More than Friends
by Bob Bandicoot
Summary: Lucy is having some certain feelings for one of her closest friends, none other than the beautiful Erza. Will she find a way to show her feelings? With some determination, and support from good friends, anything could be possible. My first yuri story. Fluffy and some humor, Lucy/Erza and Cana/Mirajane, and possibly some more pairings.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note:**** Hey everyone! This is a story I've been thinking for a while, so I decided to give it a try. It's my first yuri story, so this is something new for me. I hope you like it! I do not own Fairy Tail.**

**MORE THAN FRIENDS**

**CHAPTER 1**

It was another sunny day in the city of Magnolia. The wide streets were filled with people who either did their daily chores or simply went out for their morning walks. Two young girls were walking casually in the streets, each of them holding large shopping bags in each hand.

"The city is really nice to walk that time in the morning. Especially with a nice weather like this" the blond girl said.

"You seem to be in pretty good mood. Especially for someone who was sent for a chore so early in the morning" the brown haired girl said with a smirk.

"Why shouldn't I be? I'm just taking a walk with a good friend, while at the same time I'm helping another friend" the blond girl said with a wide smile.

"Sometimes I wonder if you are too nice, Lucy" the brown haired girl said as she shook her head.

"Come on now, Cana. It's not like you are not enjoying this" Lucy said simply.

"Well, sure. It's a nice walk. But I would rather be at the guild right now, having a drink" Cana said.

"Really? So early in the morning? Seriously, sometimes you kinda worry me with all this drinking. I think you should cut down on it a little bit" Lucy said with a hint of worry.

"Relax Lucy, I'm not that bad. Besides, by drink I was actually referring to some coffee. I think that's early even for me, at this time of day" Cana said simply.

"Right. Well, at least it's good to know that even you have some reservations" Lucy said with a teasing voice.

"Oh, shut up already" Cana said with a laugh. "So, you've been in Fairy Tail for a while now. How has it been? Do you like being in the guild? Is it everything you expected?" she continued with a light tone. Lucy thought for a moment before she answered.

"Well, to tell you the truth, I wasn't sure what to expect. Sure, I've heard about Fairy Tail before, like pretty much everyone in the city, and it has been my dream to join the guild for quite a while. I was actually nervous, and I didn't know if I would be accepted at first, but then I met Natsu and Happy, and they gave me a more clear idea about how Fairy Tail is like. Of course, I couldn't have expected what I saw when I first got inside the guild, and after a while another brawl broke out. But also, it didn't take me long to realize how wonderful and friendly all of you really are, and how you almost instantly made me feel at home. So, to answer your question, no. Fairy Tail wasn't exactly what I expected at first. It was much, much better and of course, I love being in the guild" Lucy said with a happy smile.

"Gee, that was an awfully big answer for a simple yes. I understand now how you manage to write stories" Cana said lightly. Lucy slightly blushed at that comment and Cana smiled. "Still, I'm happy to hear that you feel so strongly about being in the guild, and that you are so happy about it. We are also happy to have you" she continued with a friendly smile.

"Thank you Cana" Lucy said as she smiled back. The two girls continued for a while before Cana spoke again.

"So, Lucy. Who do you like the most in your team?" she asked.

"Huh? What do you mean who I like the most? They are all my friends, I like all of them the same. I don't have any favorites" Lucy responded a little surprised at the sudden question.

"Yeah, I know that all of them are your friends. So, I'm gonna ask again. Who do you like the most from your team?" Cana said again as she emphasized the question.

"Oh, that's what you mean" Lucy said as she finally realized the question with a slight blush.

"Finally, she gets it. So, who is it? Is it Natsu or Gray? Or maybe, someone else from the guild?" Cana asked again as she nudged Lucy.

"Come on, stop. Where did that come from? It's no one, okay? I don't like anyone like this. They are just good friends" Lucy said still blushing.

"Really, now? I'm only asking because lately, you seem like you've been spacing out, more than usual. And one of the reasons that usually happens, is because someone is on your mind" Cana said with a sly smile.

"Well, you're wrong. There's no one on my mind. Not like that, at least" Lucy said a little abruptly.

"Okay then. Perhaps, I am wrong" Cana said with a smile that showed she hadn't been convinced. Lucy didn't talk, instead she continued her walk thinking. As a matter of fact, Cana couldn't have been more right. There was someone that had been occupying Lucy's mind lately, someone that she has been thinking constantly about, and she was surprised at first when she finally realized her feelings. And even at that moment, she wasn't completely sure how she felt, and that thought drove her crazy. She knew that she had to talk to someone about it, ask for advice, and she had friends that would understand her and help her. Like the one who was walking next to her. Still, she didn't feel ready to talk, at least not yet.

"Anyway, we should get at the guild any minute now. There's the building" Lucy said as the two girls started approaching the building of the guild. The two girls continued their walk in silence for a while until they reached the building and got inside. It was still early in the morning, so the guild was relatively empty, there were only a few people sitting at the tables. As they made their way through the guild, Lucy noticed Natsu and Gray sitting in nearby tables, with sleepy and bored expressions. Happy on the other hand, was just sitting on a table, munching a fish with a delightful expression.

"Good morning Natsu, Happy and Gray" she waved with a smile.

"Morning Lucy" Natsu said with a sleepy expression.

"Hey girls" Gray waved back.

"Clothes Gray" Cana simply.

"Oh man, not again" Gray groaned as he realized that he was in his boxers once again, and moved quickly to put on his clothes.

"How he randomly loses his clothes without even noticing, I'll never understand" Lucy said shaking her head.

"I think it has become so much a habit of his, than even he can't understand how that keeps happening" Cana said with a laugh, as the two girls approached the bar.

"Good morning, Mira-san!" Lucy greeted smile.

"Good morning Lucy, Cana" the white haired girl greeted with a sweet smile.

"Hey, Mira! We got the stuff that you wanted" Cana said.

"Thanks a lot guys! We actually need more provisions, but there's no way you could carry all this stuff. I have already made an order and they will come at some point later in the day, for now this should be fine. And after your work, both of you deserve a treat! What do you like?" Mirajane said still smiling.

"Some juice will be fine. Or perhaps, a strawberry milkshake! Yeah, that's better" Lucy said with glowing eyes.

"Okay, a strawberry milkshake for Lucy. And you, Cana? Please don't ask for beer! At least not that early" Mirajane said.

"First Lucy, and now you. I'm not that bad you know" Cana said as she faked being hurt. Both Lucy and Mirajane stared at her with a knowing look, before they all started laughing.

"Yeah, sure" Lucy said between her laughs.

"Okay, maybe I am that bad. Anyway, I'll just have a coffee. With extra cream, please" Cana said as they stopped laughing after a while.

"Sure. A strawberry milkshake for Lucy and a coffee with extra cream for Cana. I'll be back in a moment!" Mirajane said with a wink as she turned around and walked back to the kitchen. Lucy noticed that Cana's look remained on Mirajane's rear longer than usual, and looked at her with a questioning look.

"What?" Cana said simply.

"Did you just check Mira out?" Lucy asked with a lowered voice.

"No, I didn't" Cana responded quickly.

"Yes you did! I saw you!" Lucy said with certainty. Cana didn't answer at once, but she smiled with a faint blush.

"Look Lucy, I know that we are friends. But, I can't be completely honest with you, unless you are honest with me" she said.

"I am not sure what you are talking about" Lucy said, but that moment the doors opened and a beautiful young girl, with long, red hair, made her way inside the guild, greeting everyone around her.

"Good morning everyone!" the red haired girl said with a kind smile.

"Good morning Erza! How've you been? Did you sleep well?" Lucy greeted eagerly with a wide smile.

"I slept just fine, thanks for asking" Erza said smiling as Mirajane walked towards them.

"Good morning Erza!" she greeted cheerfully.

"Good morning Mirajane! May I have a bottle of water? I just have a quick errand that I need to run, but I'll be back soon" Erza said.

"Of course! There you go" Mirajane said as she passed a bottle of fresh, clear water.

"Thanks! I'll see you guys later" Erza said as she took the bottle of water and moved towards the doors of the guild.

"Well, I should better get back to your drinks" Mirajane said as she walked back to the kitchen. Lucy's gaze kept following Erza until she passed through the doors, and then she turned around only to see Cana staring at her with a smirk.

"Sure, nobody's on your mind" she said sarcastically as Lucy's face turned into a bright shade of pink.

"Okay, fine! You are right, I am thinking of someone" she admitted frustrated.

"Really? I didn't notice" Cana said with a smirk.

"Look, I'm sorry that I lied to you, okay? I should have told you before but, I was embarrassed" Lucy said silently.

"It's okay Lucy! I understand" Cana said with a softer voice.

"Thank you Cana" Lucy said as she sighed in relief, feeling a burden lifted of her chest.

"Here are your drinks, enjoy!" Mirajane said cheerfully, but her smile faded as she noticed the expressions on Lucy and Cana's faces. "Is there something wrong?" she asked.

"Is it okay? Do you feel like talking? If not, then it's just fine. You can take your time" Cana said.

"It's fine Cana. I've been meaning to talk to both of you at some point, anyway" Lucy said.

"What's going on here? You guys are starting to get me worried. Is everything okay Lucy?" Mirajane said with concern.

"Don't worry Mira-san, it's not something serious. It's just that lately, I've been having some feelings, about a certain someone" Lucy said with faint blush.

"That's it? This is why you guys have such serious faces for? And you had me worried that something actually bad has happened! Lucy, this is wonderful! Romance is a wonderful thing!" Mirajane said as she sighed in relief and smiled. "So, who's the lucky one? Someone from your team? Is it Natsu, or Gray?" she continued enthusiastically.

"Well, you're right. It is someone from my team, but it's not that simple" Lucy said shyly as her face grew even redder. "This is a bad idea! This is a bad idea! What was I thinking? I can't tell her, there's no way! What am I going to do now? Perhaps, I can say that it is Natsu for now, and tell the truth later. What am I thinking, like telling it's Natsu is gonna make it any lees embarrassing. But at least, it won't be awkward. But, is it really okay to lie? Cana already knows, so why not tell Mirajane as well? What's wrong with me, I need to answer something fast, really fast!" Lucy's head began to buzz as all these thoughts were racing through her mind at the same time. Suddenly, she felt a warm touch on top of her hand. Lucy raised her head and saw Mirajane's beautiful face, graced by a soft smile.

"It's Erza, isn't it?" she said with certainty. Lucy's eyes shot wide open in surprise, and she moved her mouth a couple of times without making a sound. First Cana noticed and now Mirajane? How many people have realized her secret? And to think that she was actually scared to tell them, in the first place. Cana on the other hand, just smiled.

"As expected from you, Mira. Of course you would notice! Especially since Lucy hasn't exactly been very discreet lately" she said.

"But you, how? When? I mean, how long have you known? When did you notice? Am I really that obvious? Could Erza already know?" Lucy said shocked as she put her hands on her head.

"Calm down Lucy, it's okay! Don't listen to Cana, you're not that obvious. Although, you could be a little more discreet. I'm sure that Erza hasn't noticed, she can be a little dense sometimes. And if she did, you would probably already know about it, she wouldn't keep this to herself" Mirajane said trying to calm her.

"You are right, I need to calm down. Man, it's still early in the morning I already feel exhausted" Lucy said panting.

"Of course you feel exhausted! Have you realized how many panic attacks you've had already?" Cana said with raised eyebrows.

"Besides, I am the bartender of the guild! I should be able to tell this kind of stuff" Mirajane said with a wink.

"So, these feelings of yours. How exactly do you feel about Erza? And for long you've been feeling like this?" Cana said as she moved closer and turned towards her with peaked interest.

"I am not sure" Lucy began to say. What exactly did she feel for Erza? There were so many feelings that she had a hard time putting them in place. "I guess, I always had a thing for her. She made an impression to me from the first day that I saw her, walking inside the guild. After I got to know her a little better, I realized how wonderful she is. I admired her and thought she was cool, and I still do. And then, we got into the same team and we grew even closer. I suppose this is when I started to develop all these feelings. And seeing her naked a couple of times, sure made those feelings grow more intense" she said blushing.

"You saw her naked? When?" Cana asked surprised.

"Well, there was that time when we went to the hot springs together. I was so impressed, that I told her that she looked amazing even without her clothes" Lucy said as she buried her crimson face in her hands. Both Cana and Mirajane tried to contain their laughs.

"What a line!" Cana said.

"And what did she say?" Mirajane asked curiously.

"She suggested that maybe she should walk around the guild naked" Lucy said. At that point Cana and Mirajane could no longer contain their laughs, followed by Lucy who started laughing soon after them.

"Well, of course! What else could Erza possibly say!" Mirajane said laughing.

"But seriously now. I am not sure how to put it, but I really like her. She is brave, strong, kind, smart, gentle, caring and beautiful. So, absolutely beautiful!" Lucy said with a sigh as she leaned on her hand with a dreamy expression.

"Wow, I think that things are more serious than we realized" Cana commented.

"Long, red hair that smell like strawberry. Warm, brown eyes full of spirit. And that amazing body, with those long, firm legs and those full, soft breasts" Lucy continued with the same dreamy expression.

"Okay Lucy, I think we got the point! Erza is beautiful all right" Mirajane said with a slight sweat drop.

"Just out of curiosity, Lucy. How long have you liked girls?" Cana asked with wonder.

"I am not really sure. I guess, I always had an interest for other girls, more than I did for boys. Before I joined to guild, I used to look at pictures of Mirajane in Sorcerer's Magazine all the time. I still do sometimes" Lucy said before she suddenly stopped, her face slowly turning a shade of pink for the tenth time that morning. "Did I just say that out loud? Any chance you didn't hear this?" she asked moving her hands in defense as both Cana and Mirajane had an uncharacteristic poker face.

"It's okay Lucy, I knew you were a fan. And, that's why the pictures are there for" Mirajane said with a nervous smile.

"Hehe, okay. That's good to know, Mira-san" Lucy said with a sweat drop as she took a sip from her drink.

"I think I'm gonna need that drink sooner than I thought. Gee Lucy. And I thought that you were actually a nice, innocent girl" Cana said.

"Hey, I'm still nice" Lucy said avoiding her eyes and continuing to sip her drink.

"So, I think I will regret this, but I'll ask anyway. Do you find me attractive as well?" Cana asked curiously. Lucy slowly turned her head towards her and eyed her from top to bottom, before she quickly turned back to her drink.

"Of course I find you beautiful. Especially in this outfit" she said honestly.

"In this outfit?" Cana said as she looked at her outfit which consisted by her blue bikini top and brown trousers. "Oh, I see. Well, thanks" she said with a smile.

"Anyway, back to our topic now. What do you intend to do about Erza?" Mirajane said as she clapped her hands.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked confused.

"You can't keep this a secret, you got to tell her" Mirajane said seriously.

"Maybe, but it's not that simple. Erza is one of my best friends. How am I going to tell her something like that? What if she doesn't feel the same? What if she becomes mad or embarrassed and things become awkward? I may end up losing her as a friend and I don't think I could handle that! What if I destroy what I have if I pursue something more?" Lucy said worriedly.

"The girl has a point there. This is not something she can just come out and say. At least, not until she has an idea about Erza's feelings" Cana said thoughtfully.

"You're right. Okay then, how about you try to ease her in. You know, try to spend some more time with her, talk to her about this kind of stuff, with some discretion of course, and perhaps see how she would react to some, accidental touching" Mirajane said with a wink.

"I see. But still, even if that works, and Erza and I, get together, there's also something else. How will everyone in the guild react to something like this? How will Wendy react? And most importantly, how are Natsu and Gray going to react?" Lucy said desperately.

"I think you worry way too much, Lucy" Cana said with a smile as she put her hand on Lucy's shoulder.

"I think Cana is right. You should already know the guild is going to react by now. They will probably be a little surprised at first, but then they will be overwhelmed with joy. Wendy is so kind that she will simply say how romantic this is. As for Natsu and Gray-" Mirajane stopped and looked at Lucy with a reassuring smile "it's gonna be fine. We've known these two since they were kids, when we were kids ourselves actually. They may be a little surprised at first but then Natsu is probably going to hug you like a little kid, while Gray will probably try to act a little more cool. But they will accept you, and be happy about you. I am sure about that" she said with certainty. Lucy turned around and looked at her teammates. Natsu was still lying on the table and Gray was watching the ceiling like it was the most interesting thing in the country. She couldn't help but smile. Those two had risked their lives for Erza and her. How can they possibly get mad over something so simple? How can they be anything other than happy if Erza and she are happy together? Lucy shook her head and sighed in relief.

"You are right, they will probably be fine with this. So, how do I get to spend more time with Erza?" Lucy said as she turned towards them.

"Simple things you can start with, like going on a mission for example. You know something simple" Mirajane suggested.

"Good idea" Cana agreed.

"Okay, I'll go see if there's something on the mission board" Lucy said as she got up and walked towards the board. "Let's see now. Stop the giant monster that is attacking our village? Too dangerous. Go all the way to mount Hakobe? Too far. Table dancers wanted? Too embarrassing. And who put that here. Oh, that's seems fine" Lucy thought as she picked a sheet. "Help wanted for guarding transporting merchandise. Seems pretty simple and it takes place in the city. That's it" Lucy thought as she made up her mind and walked towards the bar with the mission sheet in her hand.

"So, have you decided?" Cana said as Lucy took her seat next to her.

"Yep. What do you think about this? It's pretty simple, right?" Lucy said as she showed them the paper.

"Oh, I know that store. I've passed from there a couple of times. This seems fine" Mirajane said as she nodded in agreement.

"Good. Now all you have to do is tell Erza about it. That shouldn't be that hard" Cana said simply.

"Yeah, right" Lucy said as she went back to her drink. Cana got on her drink as well, while Mirajane started wiping some glasses. The guild started to fill as more mages arrived but Erza still hadn't shown.

"Where is she already? She said she wouldn't take too long" Lucy thought. At that moment, the doors opened and Erza walked in, making her way towards the bar.

"There she is. Now, act cool okay?" Cana said.

"What do you mean 'act cool'? I'm fine" Lucy protested.

"Then stop shaking!" Cana mumbled as Erza got closer.

"Hey everyone! That errand took longer than I thought. Mira, can I have a drink?" Erza said as he took a seat next to Lucy.

"Right away!" Mirajane said as she got her a glass of juice.

"This looks fine" Erza said as she took a sip from her drink. Lucy kept staring at her, the mission sheet still in her hand.

"Why am I being so nervous? It's just Erza. Go ahead and tell her" she tried to encourage herself. She felt a poke on her side and turned her head around. Cana was nudging her and urging her with her eyes.

"So, Erza. Do you have any plans for today?" Mirajane said casually.

"Not really. I don't have anything to do for today. I think I'll just end up sitting in the guild all day" Erza said.

"That sounds a little boring. You wouldn't mind going on a simple mission, would you?" Cana continued Mirajane's build up.

"A mission? I suppose not. It could actually make the day a little more interesting. I wouldn't mind something simple. Maybe I will just go over to the mission board and see if there's anything interesting" Erza said as she got up.

"That won't be necessary" Lucy finally talked, picking up from where Mirajane and Cana had set the whole thing up.

"What do you mean?" Erza said as she turned towards her.

"I have already picked that mission. It's pretty simple and I could do it alone, but I really wouldn't mind if you came along" Lucy said as she tried to hid her nervousness.

"How come you didn't ask Natsu for that? You guys do some missions together, when it's not all of us?" Erza said as she took the mission sheet and looked at it.

"Oh I would ask him to come with me. But he seems really busy right now, so I wouldn't want to disturb him" Lucy said as she looked at Natsu who was still lying on the table.

"I see. Okay then, sounds like fun. Let's go" Erza said with a smile.

"Really? I mean, sure okay. That's great. Let me finish my drink and let's go" Lucy said excited.

"Is that milkshake?" Erza said.

"Yeah, strawberry milkshake. Why?" Lucy said.

"I should have taken a strawberry milkshake too" Erza said with a pout as she looked at her juice.

"That's not a problem. I could make one for you right away" Mirajane said.

"That's fine. Here Erza, you can have mine" Lucy said as she pushed her glass towards her.  
"Really? Thanks Lucy" Erza said excited.

"There's not much left, though. And if you want another straw, let me get one" Lucy said.

"No, that's fine" Erza said as she took the glass and drank the rest of the drink with glee. Lucy looked at her with a smile.

"She gets so excited over the smallest things. Especially, sweet things. Wait, does this count as an indirect kiss?" she thought, blushing.

"All done. Are you ready to go Lucy?" Erza said as she left the glass and got up.

"Sure let's go. We'll see you guys later" Lucy said as she got up as well.

"Okay, take care" Mirajane said with a bright smile.

"You girls have fun" Cana said with a smirk. Lucy slightly blushed as she smiled as well and hurried next to Erza, as the two of them walked out of the guild and made their way in the large city.

**Author's note: ****There goes this chapter. I think it turned out okay, but of course, I would like to know what you think about it. The next update will probably be a fast one. Until next time, take care everyone!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note:**** Hey everyone, the new chapter is up! I do not own Fairy Tail.**

**MORE THAN FRIENDS**

**CHAPTER 2**

Lucy and Erza made their way casually in the city. Lucy found herself walking in the city more times than she expected that morning, since her earlier shopping trip with Cana involved the two of them going to several stores, but she didn't mind. If anything, she liked taking long walks in the city, walking by the clear river and enjoying the nice view of the city, especially when she had good company. As Lucy enjoyed the scenery around her, she kept throwing glances at her friend who was walking beside her. Erza seemed to enjoy her walk as well, with a smiley face. Lucy always found her cute, to say the least, but when she had that relaxed and peaceful expression, she found her simply adorable. Lucy also took a moment to observe her friend's outfit. Erza was wearing her usual Heart Kreuz armor, a blue skirt that reached a little above her knees and black boots. A simple and yet elegant outfit that Erza a somewhat imposing look, without taking away her femininity. Lucy admired how Erza could still look girly even though she was wearing an armor, and sometimes she wondered how she didn't became tired from wearing armor all the time.

"Is something wrong, Lucy?" Erza said as she noticed Lucy's observing look.

"Damn it, did I stare for too long?" Lucy thought as she snapped out of her thoughts and tried to act casual. "Oh, it's nothing Erza! I was just wondering, how come you don't grow tired after wearing this armor all the time?" she said with a slightly nervous smile.

"You mean my Heart Kreuz armor? Oh, it's no big deal, I got used to it! It's not really as heavy as it looks. Besides, it is specially made so I can wear it daily" Erza said lightly.

"Well, it still looks pretty heavy to me. I'm not sure if I would be able to wear it all the time" Lucy said.

"I am sure you would get used to it as well. If you want, I can have a similar armor made for you too" Erza suggested.

"Thanks, but I think I'll pass. I don't know how much it would suit me to wear an armor, especially all the time" Lucy said smiling nervously at the idea. "Still Erza, you manage to look great even wearing armor! You truly are amazing!" Lucy continued with a slight blush.

"Thank you Lucy, that's really sweet! It's a little funny though, for you to compliment me about my outfit" Erza said with a small laugh.

"What do you mean?" Lucy said with wonder.

"I mean that you are one of the most well dressed people I've ever seen. You are always dressed in such stylish outfits. They are usually simple, and yet you always stand out and look good" Erza said as she pointed at Lucy, who was wearing black shorts, a red tank top that left her belly half exposed and short, brown boots.

"This is nothing, really. I just have a lot of clothes, and have an eye about how to match them. That's all" Lucy said waving her hands in defense.

"Now that I think about it, I have more armors rather than clothes" Erza said thoughtfully.

"Come on Erza, that's just because you have a lot of armors. I have seen you wearing some pretty nice clothes on more than one occasions. But if you want to, we can go shopping one of these days" Lucy said lightly.

"Really? That would be great, thanks Lucy!" Erza said enthusiastically, with glowing eyes.

"You are welcome. It's amazing how sometimes, you get all worked up for the simplest things" Lucy said casually. Erza didn't talk, instead she slightly blushed with an embarrassed smile. She looked so cute at that moment, that Lucy had to suppress the sudden urge to tackle her to the ground and start kissing her. "Which I find great! Seriously, the way you just react spontaneously, the way you feel like at the moment, it shows how passionate you are" Lucy continued smiling.

"Thanks Lucy. It's just that, sometimes when I go to such stores I get all excited, and perhaps a little confused from all the different clothes, and I end up buying a bunch of stuff. And then I leave about half of them lying somewhere in my wardrobe" Erza said.

"Oh, don't worry about that! I think most of us do the exact same thing" Lucy said laughing, causing Erza to laugh as well. The two girls then continued their walk in comfortable silence for a while, until Lucy talked again.

"So Erza, do you know anything about that store that put up the mission?" she said.

"Not much, but I've heard of it before. I guess we'll find out more once we get there. It shouldn't be long now" Erza said as they continued their way.

* * *

The guild had gotten more rowdy as more guild members started arriving.

"I'm sorry Cana, but I have some work to do now. I'll talk to you later" Mirajane said with an apologetic smile.

"Hey, it's fine Mira, you don't have to apologize. Relax, just go and do your thing. I'll simply sit here and have my drink" Cana said lightly.

"Well, you don't have to wait for me. You can talk to someone else in the meantime" Mirajane said as she turned around and moved to prepare some orders.

"Yeah, sure. Someone else" Cana mumbled as once again she watched Mirajane leave. "You are such a wimp Cana. You keep telling Lucy to go for it and confess her feelings, when you can't even do that yourself. But who am I kidding, Mira is way out of my league. Not to mention that, she really is one of my best friends. Lucy is right, how do you say something like this?" Cana thought intensely as Gray walked towards her and sat next to her.

"Hey Cana" he greeted lazily.

"Morning Gray" Cana said in a similar manner.

"Do you know where Lucy and Erza have gone to?" Gray said.

"Sure. They went to a mission together" Cana said simply.

"They went to a mission? Without us?" Gray said surprised.

"Yeah, so? I know that you guys are close, but do you have to do everything together?" Cana said as she leaned on her hand.

"They could have at least told us. And I thought that Lucy usually went on missions with Natsu and Happy, when it's not all of us. Oh well, I wasn't in a mood to go to a mission today, anyway" Gray said lazily as he got up.

"Gray wait! Can I talk to you, for a while?" Cana said suddenly.

"Sure. What's wrong Cana? You look troubled" Gray said with concern as he sat back on his seat.

"It's nothing really, it's just… Gray, do you think two friends can be, more than just friends?" Cana asked hesitantly. Gray didn't talk at once, instead he thought about it for a while.

"It looks like a big step, going from being friends to something more. But if their feelings are strong enough and true, then I don't see why not" he said eventually.

"You really think it could work?" Cana said with her spirits lifted.

"Yes, I really do. Now will you tell me who is that special one who has gotten you all worked up?" Gray asked with a smile. Cana looked at him slightly surprised.

"I must have looked pretty obvious if even a knucklehead like you got me" she said with a sight.

"That's really nice of you. If you don't want to tell me then that's fine" Gray said simply.

"Wait. Do you promise me that you will not mock me, or laugh at me?" Cana said anxiously. "Time to see if Mira was actually right about this one. And for me to see if I know Gray as well as I think I do" she thought nervously.

"Why does she look so worried? Who could she possibly like? And why would that be a bad thing?" Gray thought intensely as he watched Cana's reactions. "Fine then, I promise. You know me after all, you know you can trust me" he said. Cana took a deep breath and got ready to talk.

"Okay then, here it goes. It's Mirajane" she said. Gray stared at her with a blank expression for a while.

"If you were in a mood for jokes, you could have said so. You didn't have to look so serious" he said slightly irritated.

"Gray, I am serious!" Cana said with a hard expression, as Gray looked at her.

"You are serious" he said slowly as he stared at the counter.

"I guess Lucy was right after all. They won't understand. Even those that we consider our closest friends" Cana thought with a miserable expression, as she felt like she was surrounded by thick wall. She suddenly felt the urge to run away, but she noticed that Gray slowly smiled.

"I see now. This is why you were all flustered and worried. This is why you were so afraid. Well, I will tell you this, you sure picked a tough target" he said as he turned towards her. Cana stared at him shocked, her mouth slightly open. Gray's smile was sincere and there wasn't even an ounce of mocking in his voice.

"Wait, you mean… You are not angry? You aren't disgusted or disappointed? You won't mock me or call me names?" she said slowly.

"What? No, of course not. I mean sure, I am a little surprised, but certainly none of the things that you just said!" Gray said with surprise.

"I'm sorry, I just thought… You know, forget about it. I guess I didn't expect you to understand, or accept this" Cana said relieved.

"I thought you knew me a little better than that" Gray said a little coldly.

"You are right. I am sorry Gray, I should have had more trust in you" Can said as she lowered her head.

"It's fine Cana. Maybe, I should have reacted a little better. You know I'm an idiot. I'm not very good at this kind of stuff" Gray said with a softer voice.

"It's okay Gray. We are both fools. Maybe, that's why we are such good friends" Can said with a small smile.

"Heh, maybe. I guess, I shouldn't be that surprised. You guys have known each other for too long, and you've always been close to each other. I still think it's a tough target though. Almost the entire guild is in love with Mirajane, one way or another. Well, maybe except those who are actually related to her" Gray said smiling.

"Tell me about it" Cana said with a laugh.

"So, how does she fell about you?" Gray said.

"I don't really know. I haven't talked to her about this yet" Cana said.

"I see. Well, I'm afraid I can't help you with that. As I told, I kinda suck at this kind of stuff" Gray said ruffling his hair.

"It's fine Gray. Just being able to talk about this with you, makes me feel much better. Thank you, it really means a lot" Cana said gratefully. Gray simply smiled and put his arm around Cana.

"Come here" he said as he pulled her in a close hug.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Cana said slightly surprised.

"I am your friend Cana. I care about you, I want you to be happy. And you and Mirajane, I am sure you can make each other really happy. Besides, this is Fairy Tail. You are not alone. If you have a burden, then you share it with your friends, so it will be lighter" he said softly.

"This isn't like you Gray. You are not that sentimental usually, you are more like the tough guy" Cana said with a slightly embarrassed smile.

"What can I say. I got caught up in the moment. And you seemed like you could use a hug" Gray said simply.

"Thank you Gray" Cana said softly.

"Oh, don't you guys make a cute couple!" Mirajane said with a teasing tone.

"I can think of a cuter one" Gray said with a grin but he silently gasped as Cana elbowed him hard in the ribs.

"A cuter one? Which one are you talking about?" Mirajane said curiously, as she leaned closer.

"Which one? He, he, what a dumb question! But of course, I'm talking about those two over there" Gray said sweating nervously as he pointed at a brown haired mage and a white haired girl, who were sitting next to each other further at the bar.

"What?" the brown haired mage said shocked.

"What is he talking about?" the white haired girl said as she turned towards him.

"I have no idea!" the brown mage said still shocked.

"Max and Lisanna? When did that happen?" Mirajane said tilting her head in wonder.

"You think you are man enough for my sister?" Elfman growled angrily as he moved towards them.

"What? No! I mean, no there's nothing between me and your sister!" Max said as he started waving his hands in defense frantically.

"Calm down, Elf nii-san" Lisanna said with a smile.

"Get over here!" Elfman yelled angrily as he went after Max who started running.

"Leave me alone! I didn't do anything!" Max yelled with Elfman still after him.

"Well, I think I'll go back to my table" Gray said awkwardly as he slowly got up.

"Yeah, you better do that" Cana said with a smirk as Gray walked towards his table. "Well, it turns out that Mira was actually right! How could I doubt him? And since Gray was okay, then Natsu will probably be okay as well. Lucy, you can go ahead. Those two knuckle heads are on your and Erza's side. They always were" she thought with a happy smile.

"What are you smiling about?" Mirajane asked suspiciously.

"No reason" Cana responded still smiling, as she got back to her drink.

* * *

"Here we are. That's the store" Erza said as she stopped along with Lucy.

"It looks like a nice place" Lucy commented. The store was fairly sized, but not too big, and it looked like a big house. The lower part was stone made, but the rest of the building was wooden and the roof was made of red tiles. There was a large sign board on the front of the building over the entrance with the name of the store, "Magical Emporium", written in bright green letters. As Lucy and Erza got inside the store, they saw two men, one with black hair and a blond one, loading a large wagon with wooden boxes near the entrance. Inside, the store was more spacious than it looked, and it had shelves wooden tables packed with all kinds of magical stuff, like books, from small ones to large tomes, potions, perfumes and even a small variety of weapons.

"This place is so cool!" Lucy said in awe.

"Welcome! Welcome to Wade's Magical Emporium! I am Wade, the owner of the shop. How may I be of assistance?" the owner of the shop, a middle aged man with brown hair and a little gray on the sides, and a thick brown mustache, greeted them with a wide smile, as Lucy and Erza approached the counter.

"We are mages from Fairy Tail. We are here in response to your request" Erza said.

"Mages of Fairy Tail? So you responded to my request! This is wonderful!" the shop owner said excitedly.

"So what is this mission about? You mentioned something about wanting help with transferring some of your merchandise, in your request" Lucy said.

"That's right. You saw the wagon outside, didn't you? I need to send a batch of potions to my other store, in Onibus Town. The problem is, the way goes through the forest and I'm afraid that bandits may appear. My boys out there can handle themselves, but they are no mages. What if they fall into an ambush? It's not just my potions; I worry about my assistants too. So I could use extra help" Wade said.

"What a kind old man" Lucy thought with a smile.

"I see. No need to worry, we'll protect your wagon and your assistants" Erza said.

"Thank you for your help. Come on outside, I'll introduce you to my boys and you can be on your way" Wade said with a smile as they went out of the store.

* * *

Lucy and Erza made their way through the forest, followed by the wagon which was pulled by a brown, sturdy horse, and Wade's assistants.

"Onibus Town is the town where we took part in that play, right?" Lucy said.

"Yes, that's right. I wonder if Rabian-san needs any help right now" Erza said.

"I don't think he would ask for us after the mayhem that we caused last time. Although, now that I think about it the play was a success eventually, so he might consider us again" Lucy said thoughtfully.

"I know" Erza said as she looked around. "The forest seems pretty calm for the moment. We should still be on our guard though" she continued.

"Hey Ben, don't you feel safer with these Fairy Tail mages here?" the black haired assistant said.

"I sure do, Jerry. Things should just be fine around here. Plus, they are both so cute!" the blond assistant said.

"Wait, I think I hear something" Erza suddenly said as she stopped.

"What is it Erza?" Lucy said alerted.

"I think someone's close. Get ready" Erza said silently.

"It looks like you are a smart one. Men, let's go" a voice was heard as suddenly, several bandits started appearing from behind the trees and stood in front of them.

"So, bandits did appear, after all. And I thought we could actually enjoy a walk in the forest" Lucy said with a scowl. A tall man with surprisingly well combed black hair, and a black beard, dressed in a fancy black outfit that almost made him look like a noble man, stood in front of the other bandits proudly and took a commanding pose.

"Over hand wagon this!" he said with a strong voice. Lucy and Erza looked each other confused.

"What?" they said together.

"Hand over this wagon!" the black haired man said with a slower voice.

"I'm afraid we can't do that. You see, we are supposed to take this wagon to Onibus Town. You should better get out of our way, unless you want to get hurt" Erza said with a threatening tone.

"Foolish girl! Do you know who you are talking to?" the leader of the thieves said.

"Someone who seems to be extremely well dressed for a bandit" Lucy said.

"How nice of you to notice that. However, your flattery won't help you" the leader of the thieves said with a strong voice.

"It wasn't actually a compliment. You look kinda funny" Lucy said with a sweatdrop.

"How dare you foolish girl! I'll pay for this!" the leader of the bandits said. Lucy and Erza simply stared at him with a deadpan look.

"You'll pay for this!" the leader of the bandits said angrily.

"I warned you once. I won't repeat myself" Erza said as she stepped forward.

"Do you really think you can beat us just the two of you? Don't make me laugh! Now give us the wagon and your money, and we will attack you!" the leader of the bandits said. Lucy and Erza once again looked each other confused.

"Um, boss. Don't you mean, or else we will attack you?" one of the bandits said.

"Aargh, fine! Give us the wagon, or else, we will attack you!" the leader of the bandits said angrily.

"I told you already, this isn't happening. Looks like we will have to do this the hard way" Erza said.

"They are not that many. I think we can take them. I'm ready when you are Erza" Lucy said with a smile as she took out her Fleuve d'etoiles, her magical whip from the Spirit World.

"Requip! Flight Armor!" Erza said as she requiped to her Flight Armor. Lucy slightly blushed as she looked her friend's armor, which was pretty light. Lucy had noticed that some of Erza's armors tended to be a little, revealing, and this particular one was one of her favorites. Despite this being one of Erza's most useful armors, an armor that greatly increased her speed, it seemed pretty soft with all these fury parts that consisted the outfit, and those fluffy cat ears made Erza look even cuter. Lucy's eyes fell to some of the parts that the outfit left exposed, like Erza's exposed belly, her back and her long legs, and she gulped hard as she felt her head burning. "Let's go Lucy" Erza said as she dashed forward.

"Huh? Yeah, right" Lucy said as she attacked as well. Erza moved at a great speed, quickly knocking out most of the bandits before they even had time to react, while Lucy attacked by maneuvering her magical whip skillfully and knocking out several of the bandits.

"Hey, they are pretty good" Ben said

"I told you that everything would be fine" Jerry said.

"We got the wagon" two of the bandits yelled as they got near the wagon but they were quickly knocked out by Wade's assistants.

"You shouldn't have underestimated us" Ben said with a grin.

"That's right we can fight too" Jerry added. Lucy and Erza quickly defeated the rest of the bandits and Erza knocked their leader out.

"That was pretty simple" Erza said as she requiped to her regular armor.

"Yeah, that went well" Lucy said as she turned towards Erza. "Erza, look out!" she yelled as she swung her magical whip and knocked out one of the bandits who was about to attack Erza from behind. Erza quickly turned around, ready to attack but the bandit was already out on the ground.

"Thanks Lucy" she said with a smile as he turned towards her.

"Don't mention it" Lucy said smiling as well.

"The wagon seems fine" Ben said as he checked the boxes.

"And the horse is fine too. What a brave horse it is, it wasn't scared at all during the fight" Jerry said as he stroked the brown horse.

"Well, it looks like we are done here. Let's continue our way" Erza said as they continued their way through the forest. The rest of the trip was much calmer, without any incidents, and after they made one stop to rest, they continued their way until they got out of the forest and reached the town.

"We are here" Erza said as they reached a store similar to the one in Magnolia, but a little smaller.

"Wade has informed me about your arrival. My name is Elora, I am the manager of this store. Thank for your assistance" a black haired girl said with a kind smile, as Ben and Jerry, as well as some other assistants started unloading the wagon.

"We are glad to help" Erza said.

"As a thank you gift, Wade has told me to offer each one of you one of our potions that you helped transfer" Elora said as she pointed at the boxes.

"That's really kind of you" Lucy said enthusiastically.

"May I suggest something? You could try one of our love potions" Elora said as she took out a small purple bottle. "They are pretty effective, but I wouldn't recommend using it on someone who doesn't feel the same way about you. I won't be real love, it will be more like an obsession, plus it won't last very long. But if you use it on someone special who already has some feelings, even if it is just friendship, then it can really help" she continued with a wink. Lucy looked away, blushing slightly in embarrassment at the idea and noticed that Erza blushed as well. Lucy looked towards the small, purple bottle. One drop from that potion, and she and Erza would probably be together.

"No! I'll do it on my own way! And then, it will be real" Lucy thought decisively. Lucy and Erza eventually settled for a perfume each, greeted the others and went on their way.

"What are we going to do now? Are we going back?" Lucy said.

"This mission took longer than I thought, it's already getting dark. We should better get a room and head back to the guild the next day" Erza said. Lucy blushed furiously at the idea of spending the night Erza and tried to remain calm.

"Okay, sounds like fun" she said as the two of them made their way in the town, towards a nearby hotel.

**Author's note: ****I think this chapter had both its funny moments, and its a little more serious moments. I have noticed that sometimes in yuri stories, people tend to make the guys, well bad guys. For example, it's a story with Lucy and Erza, and suddenly Natsu becomes jealous, mean or spiteful, which I find a little unfair. Not to mention that, I really doubt if Natsu would react like this. That's why in this chapter, where Cana needed to talk to a friend, I thought that Gray would be just fine, which also shows that Gray is going to be supportive like a real friend. I would like to thank everyone for their reviews and for adding the story to their favorites, and also say that the next update will also be a quick one. Until next time!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note:**** New update everyone, I hope you enjoy it! I do not own Fairy Tail.****  
**

**MORE THAN FRIENDS**

**CHAPTER 3**

The sun had began to slowly set, giving the sky a nice shade of orange, dark blue and purple, as Lucy and Erza made their way through the town. The streets had become less busy but there were still several walking around, either returning home from a long day, making some last minute shopping or planning their evening walk. Lucy hadn't walked around Onibus Town for a while and had nearly forgotten how nice the town looked in the evening. But what actually made her way more excited, and nervous at the same time, was the thought of her spending the night with Erza, just the two of them.

"Calm down Lucy, you are just going to spend the night with Erza. It's no big deal, Erza comes to your place all the time, although not nearly as often as Natsu. I wonder if he's going to sleep at my place again, especially since I won't be around. Not like that has stopped him before. Anyway, that's beside the point" Lucy shook her head as she tried to put her thoughts back on trail. "The point is, right now, that I will spend the night with Erza. Well, that doesn't necessarily mean anything. It's not like something is actually going to happen, the room will probably have two beds so each of us will get her own. But what if the room has only one bed? I suppose, one of us would have to sleep on the couch then" Lucy continued her thoughts walking absentmindedly.

"Hey, Lucy are you listening? Lucy, I'm talking to you!" Erza said with a loud voice as Lucy snapped out of her thoughts.

"Huh? Did you say something Erza?" she said vaguely.

"Yes, I was talking to you! What's wrong with you today? You really seem out of it" Erza said as she folded her arms.

"You are right, I'm sorry. It's just that, I'm feeling a little tired today" Lucy said, rubbing the back of her head.

"I see. Actually, this what I was talking to you about. Should we go right for the hotel and rent a room? I also feel a little tired" Erza said. Lucy looked around the town, as the lights from the buildings and the lamp posts had started to switch on, and smiled.

"Why should we go to our room right now? It looks like it's gonna be a beautiful night, so why don't we go for a walk?" she suggested cheerfully.

"I thought you said you were tired?" Erza said with a smile.

"I'm not that tired! I am still fresh enough to go for a walk. Unless, you can't handle it" Lucy said with a teasing tone.

"Yeah, that's it. You got it" Erza said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Then perhaps, you don't want to spend any more time with me. Perhaps you already grew tired of me and you simply want to go and call it a day" Lucy said with a pout.

"Don't be silly, Lucy. I would never grow tired of you!" Erza said seriously.

"I know Erza, I'm just joking" Lucy said lightly.

"If anything, perhaps I should be afraid of being boring" Erza said with a small smile.

"Now, who's being the silly one? Come on Erza, if I could afford it, I would rent a place at Fairy Hills so I can be around you all the time! You know, not only with you, but with everyone else too" Lucy said quickly as she noticed Erza's questioning look.

"Is that so? I also think that it would be nice if you were at Fairy Hills, along with the rest of us. Maybe I could arrange something" Erza said thoughtfully.

"Oh, that's fine Erza, you don't need to trouble yourself about that. I'm perfectly fine at my place" Lucy said waving her hands in defense.

"Yeah but, don't you feel lonely?" Erza said with a worried expression.

"Not really. I spend most of my time at the guild or with you guys. And when I get back at my place, I'm just happy knowing that I will you guys again the next day. If anything, I enjoy some peace and quiet" Lucy said lightly. "That is, when you guys don't invade my place" she added with a small smile.

"Sorry about that. If it really bothers you then we can stop it" Erza said.

"No, don't stop this. The truth is, I'm not as bothered as I appear to be. I mean, sure when I try to take a bath, or go to sleep and I find random people around, this can be a little annoying. But I told you, I like being around you guys so I don't mind that much. I think it also shows how close you guys feel to me, right?" Lucy said slightly uncertain.

"Of course, Lucy! You know how much you mean to us" Erza said with a soft voice.

"That makes really happy! Thank you Erza" Lucy said slowly as she wiped her eyes. "Now, back to our previous topic. Should we continue our walk?" she continued with a more spirited voice.

"Sure, why not? It sounds like a pretty good idea. Do you have some place in particular you want to go?" Erza said.

"Well, let's just continue our walk and see where the road takes us. If we find a nice place then we'll simply sit there" Lucy said casually.

"Sounds good! But first, perhaps I should get a little more comfortable" Erza said as she requiped to her usual clothes, a white, sleeveless shirt, and still wearing her blue skirt.

"You took off your armor" Lucy said with a smile.

"Yeah, there's no reason to wear it all the time. Let's go now" Erza said.

* * *

Mirajane took a seat behind the bar and took a deep breath.

"Today has actually been a busy day" she said tiredly.

"You look like you could use a break. Well, most of them have already left, so you can take it easy" Cana said as she looked around at the nearly empty guild.

"Yeah, I know. It's not that bad if we have a little quiet around here once in a while" Mirajane said with a yawn.

"Gee Mira, you really look tired. Is there something I can do to help?" Cana offered. "Like taking you to my lap and cuddling you" she added inwardly.

"Just your company would be enough, Cana" Mirajane said with a sweet smile. Cana felt her heart racing, but she managed to cover it.

"That smile of yours drives me crazy Mira. Are you doing this on purpose?" she thought as she remained calm. "Well, if that's all you need. You have my company anyway" Cana said lightly.

"Still, the guild was not as rowdy as usual. We had a few brawls, mostly Elfman chasing around Max, but other than that, it was pretty calm today" Mirajane said.

"Yeah, I noticed. I suppose that can happen occasionally. By the way, have you seen Natsu or Gray?" Cana said as she scanned around the tables and noticed the two of them missing.

"I saw them talking earlier and then they got out. Perhaps they decided to do something themselves, since Lucy and Erza are on a mission" Mirajane said.

"What could those two possibly do together?" Cana said with wonder.

"I have an idea. And I suppose they would have to take it somewhere outside, in order to prevent collateral damage" Mirajane said calmly.

"You think so? Are those two knuckleheads going to be fine?" Cana said with some concern.

"Don't worry. I'm sure they will be just fine" Mirajane said with a smile.

* * *

"It's been a while since we had a good fight, right Natsu?" Gray said with a grin as he was standing in his battle pose.

"What, the brawls at the guild don't count?" Natsu said with a grin as well.

"Nearly the entire guild takes part in those and then someone, usually Erza, interferes and stops the brawl, by starting another brawl herself. Did that just sound a little strange to you, as it did to me?" Gray said.

"Yeah, that can be a little annoying sometimes" Natsu agreed.

"You say those things now, but I would like to see you try saying that in front of Erza" Happy said with a teasing tone.

"So what? She needs to hear that at some point" Natsu said.

"Anyway, I was referring to an actual sparing match like this. If we were in the guild with everyone around, I would have trouble doing this. Ice Make, Hammer!" Gray said as he shot a large, ice made hammer, which Natsu managed to dodge by jumping out of the way.

"My turn. Karyu no Tekken!" he said as he charged forward with his fist surrounded in bright flames, which Gray was able to dodge. Natsu then continued his attack with a swift spinning kick that Gray evaded by ducking, followed with a strong punch that Gray blocked. Gray then attacked with a strong punch that landed on Natsu's face and sent him flying backwards. Natsu however, recovered quickly and attacked with a hard punch of his own that sent Gray backwards.

"Karyu no Kagitsume!" Natsu said as he surrounded his leg in flames and landed a strong kick on Gray, which sent him crushing on the ground. Gray then quickly got on his feet and prepared for another attack.

"Ice Make, Lance!" he said as he sent a number of long, ice made spears. Natsu smashed them with quick strikes from his fiery punches, but Gray was already on the move, he surrounded his fist with a hard block of ice and landed a strong blow on Natsu, which sent him crushing on the ground.

"Not bad" Natsu said as he got back on his feet.

"You are pretty good too" Gray said with a grin.

"They are both equally strong" Happy said as he watched their fight.

"Here I go, Gray!" Natsu yelled as he dashed forward. "Karyu no Yokugeki!" he said as he jumped in the air, surrounded his arms with bright flames and shot a wave of fire.

"Ice Make, Shield!" Gray said as he created a large, ice made shield, which the flames crushed on, surrounding the spot in smoke and chunks of ice. Gray then suddenly jumped from the dust and landed another hard strike on Natsu who was sent flying backwards, but he flipped in the air and landed on his feet. "Ice Make, Wall!" Gray said as he slammed his hands on the ground and sent a number of large ice blocks towards Natsu, trapping him inside. Natsu however, managed to break through the ice blocks with his flames, scattering chunks of ice around him. Natsu then started charging his magical power, surrounding himself in flames, while Gray started charging his power as well, freezing the ground around him and covering his arms with hard blocks of ice.

"What are they doing? Are they really going to attack with this kind of power?" Happy said as he started sweating. Both Natsu and Gray attacked at the same time and clashed, creating a strong explosion. Happy was nearly sent flying away from the force of the explosion, as he flipped in the air.

"Overdoing it as usual" he said dizzily as he managed to stand of his feet. The smoke cleared after a while, and Happy was able to see both Natsu and Gray lying on the ground.

"Man, you really are a tough bastard" Natsu said panting, but with a smile.

"You are the one to talk" Gray said panting as well.

"That was fun! But maybe we should stick to simple brawling next time" Natsu said.

"I'm fine with that. I think I could use a drink right now" Gray said as he sat up.

"Well, you were the one who suggested it. How did you come up with that anyway?" Natsu said as he sat up as well.

"No reason. I just thought that since Lucy and Erza are on a mission together, perhaps we could do something too" Gray said shrugging.

"Yeah, I still can't believe that they just ditched us and went to a mission together. Especially, without telling us" Natsu said with a pout.

"Come on, it's no big deal. Besides, I'm pretty sure that you were sleeping on the table when they left" Gray said pointedly.

"It's not my fault, I was sleepy. But Happy dragged me all the way to the guild because he wanted his fish" Natsu said.

"Hey, it's you who ate all the fish the previous day! You should have left some for me too!" Happy said.

"I did. Has it occurred to you that you eat too much fish?" Natsu said.

"You think I'm fat?" Happy said with a dramatic pose.

"That's not what I said" Natsu said with a deadpan look.

"Hey, Natsu. Do you think that two friends can be a couple?" Gray said thoughtfully.

"What brought this up now?" Natsu said surprised.

"Just a conversation that I had earlier. So what do you think?" Gray said.

"I don't know, maybe" Natsu said scratching his head.

"How do you feel about Lucy?" Gray said.

"Lucy? Why would you ask me about Lucy?" Natsu said still surprised.

"Because you like her!" Happy said with a teasing tone.

"Shut up Happy! I don't like her! I mean, I don't like her like this" Natsu said loudly and then sighed. "I care about her, but mostly as a friend. Sure, I find her pretty, and perhaps I do feel something more, but I'm not sure what exactly" he said with a calmer voice.

"I thought as much" Gray said simply.

"What about you Gray? You keep asking me, but what about your feelings? Don't you feel the same way about Erza?" Natsu said as he turned towards him.

"Maybe. It's kinda funny actually" Gray said with a small laugh. "It seems like we are both in love with our friends, sort of. Still, what if they end up with someone else? What if neither of us ends up with them? Would you be happy for them?" Gray said still smiling, but it was obvious that he was being serious. Natsu got that, so he thought seriously for a moment before he talked.

"I think that, if they were happy with whoever they end up with, then I would be happy too. But do you really think that there is someone out there who deserves either of them?" he said.

"I am not even sure if we deserve them ourselves. But the important thing is that we both want them to be happy. Even if they are with someone else, we will still care about them. Their happiness is all that matters, whether we are boyfriends or simple friends" Gray said in way that it was like he made up his mind about something important.

"Of course! They are our friends and we'll always look out for them and care for them. But I thought that was already obvious. Seriously, what brought this up?" Natsu said.

"No reason. I told you, I had a conversation earlier and that got me thinking" Gray said. Natsu was about to talk again when he heard sniffing, and he along with Gray turned around, only to see Happy with tearful eyes.

"You guys are so mature! You finally grew up!" he said with a deeply moved voice.

"Of course we grew up Happy. So Gray, who were you talking to?" Natsu said as he turned towards him.

"I'm not going to tell you that! Mind your own business!" Gray said flatly.

"Come on Gray, I want to know! Who likes who, at least tell me that!" Natsu said excitedly.

"No, I'm not going to gossip about it! Find out on your own" Gray said.

"You bastard! You wanna go again? I'll make you tell me!" Natsu said angrily.

"Really? Bring it on!" Gray said as he butted heads with Natsu.

"Ice cube!" Natsu growled.

"Flame brain!" Gray growled as well.

"Here we go again. How could I possibly think that these guys have actually matured?" Happy said.

"Stay out of this Happy!" both of them said.

"Aye! I'll just over there, next to that tree" Happy said as he slowly flew towards a nearby tree.

* * *

"This looks like a nice place! We can sit here" Lucy said as she and Erza had reached a small bar.

"I know this place. It's pretty popular among mages" Erza said as they took their seats in front of the counter.

"Yeah, I've also heard of that place before" Lucy said.

"So Lucy, what will you have?" Erza said.

"I'm not sure yet" Lucy said thoughtfully as she picked up a menu and started scanning the drinks. "What about you Erza?" she said as she turned towards her.

"I think I'll have this one" Erza said after she took a look at the menu as well.

"That was fast. Then I'll have the same that you order" Lucy said with smile.

"Are you sure Lucy? It looks like a strong drink" Erza said questionably.

"Hey, if you can handle it, then so can I!" Lucy said as she puffed her cheeks.

"I am not sure about that. I've been in Fairy Tail longer than you. Which means that I've known Mira, and her drinks longer than you. Are you sure you can handle this?" Erza said as she tilted her head.

"Hmph, you may have been in the guild longer than me, but I'm a Fairy Tail mage too! So I'll drink like one!" Lucy said as she folded her arms.

"Have it your way then" Erza said still smiling as she waved at the bartender. After a while, both Lucy and Erza were enjoying their cool drinks, which had a bright purple color.

"This is good" Lucy said as she took a sip from her drink.

"It really is good, but take it easy. There's no need to rush it" Erza said.

"I know, I know. Even though this is pretty much what you guys do at the guild" Lucy mumbled.

"So Lucy, do you like Natsu?" Erza asked casually. Lucy, who was sipping her drink at that moment, shot a small purple pump and started coughing. "Are you okay Lucy?" Erza said as she patted her on the back.

"Of course I'm not okay! How can you be so blunt about this kind of stuff? There goes about half of my drink" Lucy said as she wiped her mouth.

"I'm sorry Lucy, it was my fault! Feel free to punish me!" Erza said stiffly as she took a small bow.

"He, he, no reason to take it that far. Please, sit down" Lucy said as she looked around nervously. The bartender looked at them with an eyebrow raised but simply shrugged it off.

"You are right. You should do this when we get back" Erza said.

"That's not what I mean! Will you drop this?" Lucy yelled and then coughed to clear her throat. "As for your question, no, I don't think I like Natsu that way. I mean, he is the one who brought me to Fairy Tail and he is one of my closest friends, and yeah, he is pretty good looking too. And of course I care deeply about him. I just don't like him like this" Lucy said with a slight blush.

"I see. I think he feels the same way" Erza said.

"You think? I hope you are right, I wouldn't want to hurt him. Wait, why are you asking me this?" Lucy said with a hint of suspicion.

"No particular reason, just to make a conversation" Erza said with a shrug.

"Really now? Then what about you Erza? Is there someone that you like?" Lucy said with narrowed eyes, slightly trembling at the answer.

"I don't think so. Nobody comes to my mind right now" Erza said simply.

"What kind of answer is that? Well, I guess it will have to do" Lucy mumbled, but inwardly she started cheering.

"I think I'll have one more and then we head back to the room" Erza said after a while.

"Good, I'll have one too. And before you start, normally I wouldn't but you caused me to spill almost half of my drink" Lucy said.

"Fine, as you wish. You may have a point there" Erza said as she ordered the same drinks again.

"Hey Erza, do you have any stories from the guild? You know, stories from when you guys were younger?" Lucy said after they got their drinks.

"Let me see. I think I can remember a couple. You know how Mira and I were when we were younger, right?" Erza said.

"Yeah, apparently you were even worse than Natsu and Gray are right now" Lucy said with a laugh.

"Probably true. We used to compete for almost everything, even small stuff. Once, we competed in a cake eating contest. We ended up full and not being able to move" Erza said.

"Mirajane challenged you to a cake eating contest? And you had a draw?" Lucy said surprised.

"What can I say, she was stubborn. And so was I. I remember another time we competed in singing contest. Everyone else couldn't decide who won, so we called it even again" Erza continued.

"They couldn't decide, or they were too afraid to decide" Lucy thought with a nervous smile. "You guys must have had quite a rivalry" she said.

"You could say that. I remember one more time, we had a race. Actually, it was a three legged race. I got Natsu and Mirajane got Gray" Erza said.

"Poor guys. I don't think they had a choice in the matter, did they?" Lucy said.

"They seemed a little hesitant at first, but we talked them into it" Erza said simply.

"Yeah, sure. Talked" Lucy said as she took another sip from her drink. The two girls continued with their talk until they finished their drinks.

"I think it's about time we go. We still need to find a hotel" Erza said. Lucy hummed and leaned on her shoulder.

"I don't want to get up. I'm sleepy" she mumbled.

"I told you should have taken a lighter drink" Erza said.

"It's not that, I'm just tired. Can't we sleep here" Lucy whined.

"Come on Lucy, I'll help you stand" Erza said with a sigh as she got up and helped Lucy back to her feet.

"I'm fine. I don't need help" Lucy said with a slight blush as she trickled a little but managed to stand on her own.

"It looks like you can stand on your own. Maybe you can handle it better than I thought" Erza said with a hint of pride.

"Erza is praising me! I'm so happy!" Lucy said with a dreamy expression.

"Come on now. The hotel shouldn't be very far" Erza said as they made their way in the town. The lights had now been turned on for good and gave the town a more lively look, while the dark blue sky was almost completely clear, with very few clouds that seemed to add more variety to the scenery. The moon was glowing and several stars were visible. Lucy looked around her with a happy smile and noticed that Erza had a relaxed, smiley face as well. Lucy then took a deep breath and slowly moved closer to Erza, tangling their hands together. For a moment she was afraid that Erza would push her away but she didn't seem to mind, instead she continued smiling and slightly tightened her hand around her own. Lucy silently sighed in relief and slowly turned her head towards Erza, and noticed that Erza had done the same thing. They looked each other for a while smiling, and then they slowly averted their eyes with a slight blush. Lucy would like nothing more than to hold her tightly in her arms at that moment, but she felt happy with their current situation.

"One thing at a time. This is just fine for now" she thought as they continued their way in the town.

**Author's note:****I know that I didn't focus a lot on Cana and Mirajane in this chapter, but I thought about showing a little more Gray's thoughts in this chapter, and also show where Natsu stands in this kind of situation. Perhaps, he is not as informed as Gray, who already knows about Cana, but I think that it still shows his own thoughts and feelings. Anyway, in the next chapter I'll focus a little more on Cana and Mirajane, and of course on Lucy and Erza. The next update will probably be a fast one, as well. Until next time.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note:**** Hey, everyone! The new chapter is up, enjoy! I do not own Fairy Tail.**

**MORE THAN FRIENDS**

**CHAPTER 4**

A pleasant breeze blew in the clear, cool night as Lucy and Erza arrived at the hotel. It wasn't very big but it looked pretty spacious, hospitable and comfortable. It seemed more like an inn rather than a hotel, painted in a soft blue color and its roof was covered with red tiles. There was a large yard behind it, surrounded by a wooden, brown fence and there was also a secondary building next to the inn, which was smaller and wooden made. The inn looked like it had two floors in addition to the ground floor.

"Here we are. This place looks fine, don't you think?" Erza said.

"It's lovely! Simply wonderful!" Lucy said with sparkling eyes.

"I guess you like it then. Come on, let's get inside" Erza said with a small laugh from Lucy's antics, as they got inside the inn. The lobby was nearly empty as Lucy and Erza made their way towards the reception counter.

"Good evening! How may I help you?" the receptionist asked with a kind smile.

"We would like a room for the night, please" Erza said.

"Most of our rooms are already taken, but I think we have a couple of rooms that will fit you just fine. It's just the two of you, right?" the receptionist said.

"Yes, that's right" Lucy said.

"I see. Do you have any preferences about your room? We have a lovely room on the first floor with a nice view at the city" the receptionist said with a smile.

"We'll take it" Erza said as she booked the room. After a while, Lucy and Erza got inside their room and looked around. The room seemed quite cozy and had a large balcony with a view at the city, but Lucy noticed something with a scowl.

"It looks pretty good, but it has only one bed" she said. "Great, just what I was afraid. Couldn't I think of something else instead, like unicorns, or finding a hidden treasure" she thought.

"Yeah, I noticed. But we've been told that most of the rooms are already booked. Maybe, they have only rooms with one bed left" Erza said.

"What are we doing to do? At least there's also a couch. I guess one of us will have to sleep there" Lucy said putting at the thought.

"There's no need for that Lucy. The bed seems pretty comfortable and big enough for both of us" Erza said as she moved closer to the bed and leaned on it, testing the mattress.

"You mean the two of us, sleeping together? On the same bed?" Lucy said with a slight blush.

"Yeah, I don't think it's that bad . Once, I had to sleep on the same bed with both Natsu and Gray. Of course by the next morning they had both fallen on the ground. I guess three people are too many for a single bed" Erza said.

"You guys have even slept together? And on a single bed?" Lucy said, her eyes wide in surprise.

"Well, it was a smaller inn, with much fewer rooms. It wasn't as bad as it sounds though, the bed was pretty comfortable" Erza said.

"I suppose the floor wasn't that comfortable" Lucy said with a nervous smile.

"Apparently it wasn't. Natsu and Gray kept complaining about not sleeping well and were grumpy the entire next day. Anyway, this bed should be more than enough for the two of us" Erza said as she turned towards Lucy. "Unless, you don't want to" she continued with some hesitance.

"What? No, no, I want to! I don't have a problem with that. I mean, since there's only one bed, then this will have to do" Lucy said waving her hands in defense.

"Good, that settles it then" Erza said with a small smile.

"Besides, you are right. It really is comfortable" Lucy said as she fell on the bed. "So fluffy!" she said with a happy smile as she stretched.

"I suppose I'll take a bath then" Erza said simply as she moved towards the bathroom.

"Yeah, go ahead. I need a nice bath too" Lucy said with a yawn. "I'm so tired, but I won't sleep well until I have a bath" she said sleepily.

"If you want too, we can have a bath together. This will save us some time" Erza suggested. Lucy's eyes shot wide open as she blushed furiously at the idea, and it was a good thing that she was lying at that moment and Erza couldn't see her face.

"That's fine, you go first Erza! It's no big deal, I'll just wait!" Lucy said with a slightly quick voice.

"As you wish" Erza said lightly as she walked in the bathroom and closed the door. Lucy took a deep breath and remained on the bed with her eyes closed until she heard water running.

"Erza must have gotten in the bath" Lucy thought as she slowly opened her eyes. "I wonder if she bothered taking off her clothes or she simply requiped. Sometimes it must be really convenient to simply make your clothes transfer from place to place" Lucy continued her thoughts as she suddenly shot her eyes wide open and sat up. Erza was taking a bath, which means she was right at the next room and she was all… Lucy shook her head quickly. "Come on Lucy, it's nothing. Erza is just having a bath. She is probably all wet and naked. It's no big deal" Lucy thought as the image of Erza taking a bath slowly came to her mind. The hot water running on Erza's smooth skin, her long, red hair sticking to her body, her mouth half open in pleasure from the relaxing sensation that a hot bath offers, the drops of water slowly making their way from her pretty neck, to her soft breasts and continuing to her flat, firm stomach and lower to her long legs. Lucy closed her eyes tightly with a flushed face and shook her head again, trying to send the images away. "What's wrong with me? Okay, I need to think of something else. I am at the guild. I am sitting at the bar and I'm talking to Mira and Cana. Natsu and Gray are brawling as usual. Then Erza comes in. Perhaps she is naked" Lucy opened her eyes with a dead pan expression. "This isn't helping. Okay, let me try again. I am at my place right now. I am just sitting at my desk, enjoying a nice cup of tea and writing my novel. Then Erza comes in. Perhaps she is naked. What the heck?!" Lucy let out those last words louder than she expected.

"Lucy? Is something wrong?" Lucy heard Erza saying from the next room.

"Damn it, keep it down Lucy!" she yelled inwardly as she grabbed her mouth. "Eh, everything is fine, Erza! I just, saw a scary bird, that's all!" she said nervously.

"Oh, okay then" Erza said as she turned the water back on. Lucy sighted in relief.

"That was close. Still, what's wrong with me? When did I become such a pervert?" she thought as she fell face first on the bed, burying her flushed face in one of the fluffy pillows as the images of a naked Erza started flowing her mind again. "Why do I keep thinking about this? I've seen Erza naked before" she said as she slowly raised her head, and remembered some of the times that she saw Erza naked before. "This isn't helping either" she whined as she buried her head back on the pillow. After a while she heard the door open and footsteps coming closer. Lucy raised her head and her mouth fell open, her eyes shot wide open and her face felt like it was on fire. Erza came out of the bathroom wrapped only in a white towel that covered only the necessary parts.

"That was one nice bath!" Erza said with a delighted sigh and flipped her hair. "Is there something wrong Lucy? You look a little flushed" Erza said as she noticed Lucy's struck expression.

"I'm fine. I am just a little tired" Lucy said as she rubbed her forehead.

"Yeah, it took me a while in there. Sorry about that. Anyway, the bathroom is free now, you can go and take your shower" Erza said as she simply dropped her towel.

"Erza! What are you- you dropped your towel!" Lucy said shocked.

"So what? You've seen me naked before, haven't you?" Erza said with a small laugh as she requiped into a pair of purple pyjamas. "Are you okay, Lucy?" she said Lucy still had a shocked expression.

"I'm going for a cold bath!" Lucy said with a flushed face as she rushed into the bathroom.

"What's gotten into her? I guess she's just tired" Erza said as she sat on the bed. Lucy let the cool water fall on her slim body as she leaned with her hands on the wall and tried to catch her breath.

"What is she doing? Is she trying to drive me crazy? But then again, Erza has always been a little strange about the whole nakedness thing. I remember that one time when she showed me around the rooms in Fairy Hills, and she just randomly tried one of her armors" Lucy thought with a laugh. This seemed to calm her a little. "What am I thinking? This is Erza, she is still one of my best friends. Even if my feelings have been a little, different lately. Maybe, that's why I am getting a little more, excited, and I have all these thoughts" Lucy thought and sighted. "I can start feeling all awkward around her now. This has been a great day, there's no reason to ruin it now" she continued her thoughts. Erza was still at the next room, and when Lucy got out of the bathroom, they would sleep on the same bed. Lucy felt nervous, and excited at the same time, at this thought and finished her bath quicker than she expected. She wiped her body and her hair, and noticed that in her rush she had left her pyjamas in the next room. With a small blush, she wrapped herself with a towel, much like Erza before, and got out of the bathroom. She saw that Erza was still sitting on the bed, looking out of the balcony, when she heard her footsteps and turned towards her with a smile.

"You finished quicker than I thought" she said.

"Yeah, I just want to fall in the bed quickly. I am too tired" Lucy said with a yawn as she walked towards her luggage and took out her pyjamas. "I'll be back in a moment" she said as she walked towards the bathroom.

"Okay then" Erza said as she lied on the bed. After a few minutes, Lucy came out of the bathroom in her pink pyjamas.

"I wasn't late, was I?" she said.

"Not at all. Now come on, get on the bed already" Erza said as she patted the empty side next to her. Lucy walked towards the bed, a little hesitant at first, but then she quickened her step and jumped on the bed.

"Ah, lying on a soft bed after a nice bath is one of the best feelings" she said as she stretched comfortably.

"I couldn't agree more" Erza said as she rested comfortably.

"Today was pretty fun, wasn't it?" Lucy said as she turned her head towards Erza.

"It really was! Maybe we should do it again. You know, a simple mission like this, just the two of us" Erza said.

"Okay. But we still need to go for shopping first" Lucy said with a small laugh.

"Right, I can't wait. This should be fun" Erza said as she turned to her side. "Good night, Lucy" she said with a warm smile.

"Good night, Erza" Lucy said smiling as well as she closed her eyes. "This was an amazing day! Not only I finally got to talk about my feelings with Mira and Cana, but I spent the entire day with Erza! Not to mention that we are actually sleeping together" Lucy thought happily. "I mean, that feels a little funny. I feel kinda nervous, for some reason. But, it feels good" she continued her thought as she felt her body slightly shaking. Suddenly, Lucy felt a small weight on her body, something soft and warm leaning on her. She turned around and saw that Erza had turned on her side towards her, and snuggled against her with a small smile. Her face had a relaxed expression and her breath came out rhythmically, and Lucy realized that she was already asleep.

"Well, I guess I could think of worse places to sleep" Lucy thought with a warm smile and a slight blush as she put her arms around Erza and pulled her closer in a hug as she drifted in a peaceful sleep.

* * *

Mirajane got out of her bed, rubbing her eyes.

"Who could it be at that time?" she wondered as she heard a knock on her door. "Who is it?" she said as she moved closer to the door.

"It's me. Open up" a familiar voice was heard.

"That voice. Is it really" Mirajane thought as she opened the door. "Cana? What are you doing here?" she said with surprise.

"Hey Mira. Can I come in?" Cana said with a cheerful smile.

"Sure. Is something wrong?" Mirajane said with some concern as she let Cana get inside her room.

"Not really. I just didn't feel like sleeping, so I passed by to hang out for a while" Cana said casually.

"To hang out? Cana, do you have any idea what time it is? I was sleeping" Mirajane said as she rubbed her eyes again.

"Yeah, sorry about that. But there's nothing better than spending some quality time with good friends, right?" Cana said still smiling.

"Normally I would agree, but I'm too sleepy right now. We can talk tomorrow at the guild" Mirajane said drowsily.

"You mean that, you don't want to hang out with me? Your good friend? I am so hurt! Come on Mira, pretty please!" Cana said as she put her hands together and took an adorable expression. Mirajane was caught off guard and looked at Cana's expression with surprise.

"So cute! Since when can Cana do a puppy face?" she thought, still surprised. "Okay, I guess there's nothing wrong with hanging out for a while, even if it's pretty late" she said eventually.

"Yay! I knew I could convince you!" Cana said with excitement. "Now close the door, will you? It's getting chilly" she added as she sat on the bed.

"I can't believe I fell for that" Mirajane thought with a sigh as she closed the door.

"Here, catch" Cana said as she threw a bottle at Mirajane who was moving towards the bed. "And before you start, it's just juice. I know it's kinda late for a drink" she said as she opened her own bottle.

"I wasn't going to say anything" Mirajane said lightly as she opened her bottle as well.

"Yeah, right" Cana said with a laugh as Mirajane sat on the bed and they both took a sip from their drinks.

"This is kinda strong for simple juice" Mirajane said with an eyebrow raised.

"Okay, maybe it's not just juice. I may have added a little rum to it" Cana said with a shrug.

"That's the Cana I know! For a moment I was a little worried there" Mirajane said with a laugh. Cana laughed as well.

"She is so pretty when she laughs. And that outfit" she thought as her eyes fell on Mirajane's outfit. Mirajane was wearing a simple, pink night gown which seemed pretty light and kinda short, it let her smooth legs exposed, as well as part of her cleavage, while Cana was wearing a blue tracksuit with a matching blue top.

"So Cana, what do you want us to do?" Mirajane said lightly as Cana quickly raised her eyes.

"I don't know, we could talk I guess" she said with a shrug.

"Talk about what?" Mirajane said.

"Well, you are the gossip queen. Don't you have any fresh news?" Cana said.

"Is that so? Well, now that you mention it, I do have something in mind" Mirajane said as she narrowed her eyes.

"I don't like where this is going" Cana thought nervously.

"So tell me Cana, what's going on between you and Gray?" Mirajane said with a sly smile.

"Eh? Me and Gray? Come on Mira, why would anything go on between me and Gray?" Cana said with a laugh.

"Oh, don't hide from me Cana. I saw the two of you earlier today. You were all close and stuff, and then he hugged you. So, don't tell me that there's nothing going on between the two of you!" Mirajane said as she leaned closer.

"Hey, no fair Mira! I asked you first, you can't make this about me!" Cana whined. "As expected from Mira. I should know better than to ask her about gossips" she thought.

"You were the one who asked me if I have anything hot. These are the hottest news I can think right now, since the whole thing with Max and Lisanna was just rumors" Mirajane said in a matter of fact way.

"What about Lucy and Erza? Isn't that hot news?" Cana said back.

"You have a point, but Lucy and Erza are on a mission. All we have to do is wait for them to come back and interrogate Lucy. But you are here right now, so it's easier to just ask you" Mirajane said with a sweet smile.

"Fine" Cana said with a sigh. "But I told you already, there's nothing going on between Gray and I, you know how good friends we are. And about the hug thing, he just got a little sentimental, that's all" she continued simply as she took a sip from her drink.

"Are you sure that's all?" Mirajane said with an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, Mira that's all" Cana said. "I also told him about how crazy I am about you" she added inwardly.

"Fine, that will do for now" Mirajane said in a way that showed that she wasn't completely convinced. "Let's talk about something else" she continued lightly. The two girls continued their talk for a while, laughing and drinking their drinks.

"That was fun Cana! But I'm afraid I can't go on, I'm too tired" Mirajane said with a deep yawn.

"Yeah, you are right. It has gotten pretty late. I better take off, thanks for the keeping me company, Mira" Cana said as she slowly got up.

"Where are you going?" Mirajane said.

"To my room. So I can let you get some sleep. Actually, I'm pretty sleepy myself" Cana said tiredly.

"Don't be silly! There's no reason for you to go all the way to your room, you can simply sleep here. I do have a double bed after all, so we'll be fine" Mirajane said with a smile.

"You mean the two of us? Sleeping together?" Cana said with a slight blush.

"Yeah! Just like when we were young, remember? It will be fun" Mirajane said. Cana seemed to hesitate for a moment.

"Okay, sounds like fun!" she said eventually with a smile as she jumped on the bed and snuggled closer to Mirajane.

"That's better. Good night, Cana" Mirajane said softly.

"Good night, Mira" Cana said with a warm smile.

* * *

The sunrays went through the open window as the sun slowly began to rise. Lucy grimaced as the sunrays fell on her pretty face and sunk deeper in her pillow and felt something soft and warm next to her. She took a deep breath and a vague scent of strawberry filled her nostrils, as she smiled widely.

"Mmm, that was a nice sleep" Lucy mumbled drowsily.

"It really was" Erza said sleepily as well. It took them a moment before they both shot their eyes wide open and saw how close they were to each other. Lucy was confused for a moment and felt her head slightly heavy, but then the last night slowly came back to her mind. They both slowly got up and looked awkwardly towards different directions, both of them having a faint shade of pink on their faces.

"Um, good morning Erza" Lucy said a little awkwardly.

"Good morning Lucy. Did you have a nice sleep?" Erza said awkwardly as well.

"Yes, I had a wonderful sleep, thanks for asking. What about you?" Lucy said looking at another direction.

"Me too. I slept really well" Erza said looking at the mattress.

"So, what do we do now?" Lucy said as she slowly turned towards Erza.

"I guess, we'll have some breakfast downstairs and then we'll head back to the guild" Erza said still looking at the mattress.

"Sounds like a good idea" Lucy said.

"I don't feel like getting up though. It still too early" Erza said as she fell back on the bed.

"You're right. I guess we could lie down for a while longer" Lucy said as she lay back on the bed. Lucy could still feel the warmth from Erza's body.

* * *

"Will you stop laughing Cana?" Lucy said. Lucy and Erza had returned back to the guild, and while Erza went to Fairy Hills, Lucy was sitting on her usual spot at the bar and had told everything that happened the previous day to Cana and Mirajane.

"How romantic! Lucy and Erza spent the night together!" Mirajane said with a dreamy expression as Cana continued laughing.

"It wasn't exactly like that Mira-san!" Lucy said waving her hands in defense. "And will you tell me why do you keep laughing Cana?" she said slightly irritated as she turned towards Cana.

"What do you want me to do? You are telling that Erza kept walking around you naked and got you all flustered. If I didn't know any better I'd say that she did that on purpose" she said as she wiped her eyes from her laughter.

"You don't think that… she did that on purpose. Do you?" Lucy said a little hesitantly.

"I really doubt that Lucy. I told you before, if she knew she would probably be more direct about it. I think it was just Erza being Erza" Mirajane said waving her hand.

"I agree with Mira. That girl has a strange idea about this whole thing" Cana said nodding her head.

"Yeah, tell me about it" Lucy said as she leaned on her hand.

"Well, Lucy, you are not the only ones who slept together last night. Right Cana?" Mirajane said with a wink, as Cana slightly blushed.

"What? What do you mean? Cana, did you?" Lucy began to say but stopped as Cana elbowed her.

"Well, it looks like I will be busy for a while. I'll talk to you guys later" Mirajane said as she noticed more mages coming and she moved at another spot of the bar.

"That hurt!" Lucy whined as she rubbed her ribs.

"Sorry, but you where about to tell on me" Cana said silently.

"Was I? Well, how did you expect me to react after hearing that? What happened between the two of you last night?" Lucy whispered.

"Nothing happened! I was in my room at Fairy Hills and I couldn't sleep, I kept thinking about her. So I got up, grabbed two bottles and went straight to her room. Even now, I'm not sure what I was thinking. I was about to leave when Mira opened the door, it was quicker than I expected. I just smiled and improvised, telling her that I couldn't sleep and I wanted to hang out with someone. It turned out to be pretty fun, actually. We ended up talking and when I was about to leave, she suggested that we sleep together, just like when we were young. Nothing really happened, we just slept together and I had the chance to hold her close to me, you know, while still trying to act more, friendly. It was one of the best nights I've ever had!" Cana said with a slight blush.

"That sounds nice. Something similar happened with me and Erza. I guess we both got a little closer last night, right?" Lucy said.

"I'm not sure. I think that you and Erza actually got a little closer. But Mira is still considering me as just a friend. It's funny that she calls Erza dense, while she is practically the same. Unless" Cana said thoughtfully as she narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Mira has actually realized something and she's just playing with me! That little minx! I don't know about Erza, but I would definitely expect something like that from Mira! I should just grab her and…" Cana said as she got up but Lucy grabbed her wrist.

"Calm down Cana! I don't think that Mira knows anything. And even if she did, you should either play along or simply be honest with her. You can't just go over there and kiss her in front of everyone, especially if she doesn't know! That would be embarrassing" she whispered.

"You are right Lucy, I need to remain calm. It's just that, sometimes it's really frustrating" Cana said with a sigh as she sat down.

"I know" Lucy nodded in understanding.

"By the way, I talked with Gray yesterday" Cana said.

"You did? And, what happened?' Lucy said surprised as Cana narrated quickly her discussion with Gray.

"So, Mira was right. Gray was actually supportive. I'm so glad!" Lucy said relieved with a happy smile.

"I guess we were both worried for nothing. Maybe we should give those guys more credit" Cana said with a small smile.

"I guess" Lucy said still smiling.

"Now, what are we going to do? How are we going to get some more time with the two of them?" Cana said.

"Well, I have already agreed with Erza to go shopping. As for you" Lucy said rubbing her chin in thought. "I know! You can offer to help her with the bar" she said enthusiastically.

"Lucy that's brilliant! Thanks a lot! You really are smart, you know" Cana said excitedly.

"He, he, you only noticed that now?" Lucy said rubbing the back of her head nervously.

"Now I'll just wait for Mira to come closer and I'll tell her" Cana said decisively.

"And I'm going to Fairy Hills! Erza said that she would be coming later but I'm not waiting! I'll talk to you later Cana" Lucy said determined as well, as she got out of her seat.

"See you Lucy!" Cana waved at her as Lucy moved towards the exit of the guild and made her way in the city.

**Author's note: ****I think this chapter got a little, steamy at some points. And it sure wasn't easy to write, since I haven't done anything similar to the scene at the inn before. I tried to kinda balance between the hotness of that scene and the humor, and I also tried to make the rest of the scene a little more fluffy. I think that worked well. And I also focused a little bit more on the pairing between Cana and Mirajane, maybe in a more friendly way. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Until next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: ****Hey everyone, new update! I do not own Fairy Tail.**

**MORE THAN FRIENDS**

**CHAPTER 5**

Erza was in one of her rooms in Fairy Hills, tidying her stuff from her last trip. Her thoughts, however, were far from her current occupation. In fact, they were still in her last mission. It was the first time that Erza had gone on a mission with Lucy alone, and she had enjoyed every minute of it. But what seemed to have made her the most impression was specifically the previous night. It wasn't the first time that Erza had shared a bed with one of her teammates over the years that they have gone to missions, or even the first time that she had shared a bed with another female guild member of the guild. Of course this had happened only a few times, and it was with Mirajane when they still considered each other rivals. But this time it was different. Maybe it was the fact that Lucy didn't snore like Gray and Natsu did, or she wasn't constantly kicking her out of the bed, like Mirajane did. It was actually a nice and comfortable night. Erza sat on her bed and brought back the memories from the previous night at the inn. She could still remember the feel of Lucy's body against her own, her soft skin, the vague scent of her hair, the warmth of her body. She remembered how nice and cozy she felt, how she simply allowed herself to relax in her hug and how this was one of one of her most serene and relaxing sleepovers. Erza felt her face slowly heat up.

"Why am I feeling so flushed all of the sudden?" she thought with some surprise as she rubbed her forehead. Erza simply shook her head, got up from her bed and went back to tidying her stuff, until she heard a knock on her door. She stood up and looked towards the door with some wonder.

"Who is it?" Erza said.

"It's me, Erza. Open the door" Lucy's voice came from behind the door. Erza felt her face heat up again, and suddenly got an excitement that she wasn't sure where it came from.

"Coming right away!" she said more enthusiastically than she expected, as she quickly moved across the room and opened the door.

"Morning Erza!" Lucy greeted cheerfully.

"Good morning Lucy! Come in" Erza greeted back as she moved aside and allowed Lucy to step into her room.

"So, are you ready?" Lucy said with some excitement.

"Ready for what?" Erza said, tilting her head in wonder.

"You don't remember? We agreed that we were going shopping today!" Lucy said with a bright smile.

"Oh, that's right. I nearly forgot about that" Erza said as she suddenly remembered their arrangement.

"How could you forget Erza? Here I was all excited about it and you didn't even remember it!" Lucy said with a pout. Erza couldn't help but laugh at Lucy's childish pout, causing Lucy to laugh as well. She also noticed how cute she looked with that expression at that moment.

"Sorry, sorry. Look, it will just take me a moment to tidy my stuff and then I'm all ready" the red haired girl said.

"Okay then, I'll just wait" Lucy said as she sat on the bed. "Or even better, I will help you so we can leave sooner" she said as she jumped back on her feet almost instantly.

"This does sound like a good idea. Okay then, take this stuck of clothes and put them in my drawer please" Erza said as she pointed at a stuck of clothes.

"Aye sir!" Lucy said in Happy like manner as she picked up the clothes, causing Erza to laugh again.

"Well, someone is in a good mood" she commented as she took out some more clothes from her suitcase.

"Why wouldn't I be? It's a nice day with a good weather, and I will spend it with one of my best friends!" Lucy said cheerfully.

"I guess I can't argue with that. Actually, I'm also feeling kinda excited about this day" Erza said in a confessing way.

"Really? That's great Erza!" Lucy said happily.

"You know Lucy, it's a little funny. I was just thinking about you, and after a while there you are, in my door" Erza said as she tidied her clothes in her wardrobe.

"Maybe you are a psychic" Lucy said jokingly. "Um, what do you mean you were thinking about me?" she continued with a hint of hesitance.

"Oh, you know. About the mission and, about last night" Erza said with her back still turned against Lucy. "I mean, it was fun. Our walk in the town was fun, and the night at the inn… I enjoyed our time together. Well, it was definitely more comfortable than other missions that I've been to. And you were, a good roommate" Erza slightly stammered as she turned towards Lucy, trying to keep her voice steady. She noticed Lucy having a genuinely happy smile on her face and, unless Erza was mistaken, she also seemed to have a faint blush.

"I am really happy to hear that from you, Erza. You know, last night was fun for me too" the blond girl said with a bright smile, as she looked at her directly in her eyes. The two girls locked eyes for a moment, before they quickly turned towards different directions, avoiding each other's look. There was an awkward silence for a while, until Erza decided to talk again.

"Well, I guess I'm done here. So, shall we go?" She said, trying to sound casual.

"Huh? Oh yeah, sure! Let's go, Erza!" Lucy said, recovering her earlier enthusiasm. The two girls got out of their room, greeted their friends on the hallway of the building as they walked through, and got outside.

"Nice outfit, by the way" Erza commented as she took a look at her friend's outfit. Lucy was wearing a light blue tank top, with a matching pink and white skirt that reached little over her knees, her brown belt where she held her keys and black boots.

"Thanks Erza. I like your outfit too" Lucy said.

"I am not wearing something different from the last day" Erza said as she was wearing again her usual outfit, a white shirt, a blue skirt and high, black boots.

"I know, but it still suits you" Lucy said lightly.

"You are very sweet" Erza said with a smile as they continued their way.

* * *

"Hey Gray, have you seen Lucy and Erza anywhere?" Natsu said. Natsu and Gray were simply sitting on one of the tables at the guild, each of them holding a drink.

"I think they went out shopping, or something like this" Gray said.

"Really? They went out without us again?" Natsu whined.

"I guess. Were you really in a mood to go shopping though?" Gray said with a shrug.

"Well, if you put it that way" Natsu said.

"See? Just sit down, they'll get back eventually" Gray said.

"I'm bored" Natsu said as he fell face first on the table. On another side of the guild, at the bar, Cana was still sitting on her seat, sipping her drink and waiting for a chance to talk to Mirajane.

"Come on now, it's not that hard. It's pretty simple, just ask her if she needs help. Don't be a pushover now" she thought intensely. "There she comes. Here goes nothing" Cana continued her thoughts as she noticed Mirajane coming towards her.

"Hey Cana" Mirajane greeted smiling.

"Hey Mira. Busy morning?" Cana said casually.

"You could say that. I've had worse mornings, but this doesn't look like it's gonna be an easy one" Mirajane said with a sigh.

"Well, do you need any help?" Cana said those last words without even realizing it. Mirajane looked slightly surprised, but then she smiled.

"That's really kind of you Cana, but it's fine. This is nothing I can't handle, and if things get worse, then I'll just ask for Lisanna to help me" she said lightly, waving her hand.

"Come on Mira, leave the girl alone. She just got here, let her enjoy the guild. Besides, you know that you can rely on your friends for help too, don't you? Especially me, who has taken too much of your time before, with my constant drinking" Cana said with more confidence.

"I guess you have a point, if you put it that way" Mirajane said thoughtfully, as he brought her finger near her mouth.

"That's it, I'm helping you. I've made up my mind!" Cana said decisively, as she got up and jumped from the other side of the counter.

"Whoa! That was fast!" Mirajane said surprised.

"So, what should I do?" Cana said with a wide smile.

"Hmm, let me think for a moment" Mirajane said as she rubbed her chin. "Oh, I know. I got the perfect thing for you, Cana. Please, follow me" Mirajane said with a smirk, as she slowly turned around and moved towards the back of the kitchen swaying her hips, with Cana following after her. Was it just her imagination, or did Mirajane seemed to move her hips more than usual?

"There, Cana. Wash the dishes" Mirajane said with a sweet smile as she pointed a sink full of cups and dishes.

"What? Seriously, Mira? That's what you had in mind?" Cana whined.

"Yep, this is what must be done right now. I told that it wasn't necessary, but you insisted. You said that you wanted to help, so go ahead and help" Mirajane said.

"I did, but still. Wash the dishes? I was thinking more like helping you with serving the drinks" Cana said while rubbing the back of her head.

"So you can get extra fills when I'm not looking?" Mirajane asked with an eyebrow raised.

"You are mean, Mira. And I know that you keep measuring how much drink the barrels have left, so that wouldn't help anyway" Cana mumbled.

"He, he, I know, I'm just teasing you Cana. Look, they are not that many, just finish with the dishes and then you can come in the front and help me with serving the drinks. Besides, two cute bartenders are better than one!" Mirajane said with a wink. "I'll be waiting" she continued with a singing voice as she moved towards the counter. Cana simply shook her head with a small smile, as she tied an apron around her waist.

"That Mira. I should have expected something like that. Still, it's a start I guess. All I have to do is finish these cups and dishes, and then I'll be with her in the front for the rest of the day" she thought with a triumphant smile."Of course, that's easier said than done" she continued her thoughts with a sweatdrop as she noticed that the dishes were more than she expected. Cana simply shook her head and began her dull task.

* * *

"So, where are we going?" Erza said, as Lucy and she made their way in the city. The roads were busy and the city seemed as lively as ever.

"I know a nice clothes shop, not very far from here. We can start from there" Lucy suggested.

"Okay, lead the way then" Erza said simply as they continued their way. It didn't take long before the two girls arrived at the place that Lucy suggested and got inside. The store was fairly large, and it seemed to have a variety of different outfits.

"Welcome to our store. How may I help you?" one of the shop assistants, a pretty girl with long brown hair said with a kind smile.

"Hi! We are just taking a look for the moment. If we need any help, we'll let you know" Lucy said politely.

"As you wish. Let me know if you need something" the brown haired girl said as she took a small bow and walked to another client in the store.

"Do you have anything in mind, in particular?"Erza said as she turned towards Lucy.

"Not really. Let's just take a look around. Besides, didn't you say that you also wanted to buy some stuff?" Lucy said casually as she browsed through some shirts.

"I did, but as I said as I told you before, sometimes I'm not sure what to pick" Erza said as she went through some outfits absentmindedly.

"Well, we are simply looking for some casual clothes right now. So if you say something that you like, just try it on. Like this one" Lucy said as she picked a white shirt with some yellow flowers. "This looks cute, what do you think?" the blond girl said as she showed it to Erza.

"It looks good. Why don't you try it on?" Erza said.

"I will. And I'll try it with these pair of jeans. Look around while I try these on, I'm sure you'll find something" Lucy said as she moved towards the dressing rooms. Erza looked around for a while longer, waiting for Lucy to get dressed, but she also noticed something that picked her interest. As she picked up the outfit, she noticed that Lucy was already dressed up.

"How do I look, Erza?" Lucy said as she took a pose.

"You look great, Lucy" Erza said smiling as she looked at Lucy's outfit. The shirt was slightly loose, letting Lucy's shoulder slightly exposed, and the jeans were tight enough to highlight Lucy's beautiful legs.

"Thanks! Hey, I see that you found something too! What is it? Let me see!" Lucy said excited as she noticed Erza holding something at her side.

"Oh, it's nothing really" Erza said with a hint of shyness as she showed the outfit that she was holding, a casual, yet elegant red dress.

"Nice choice, I'm sure it will look great on you! Go ahead, try it on" Lucy said as she was nearly pushing Erza to the dressing rooms. "And no requiping! There's no reason to hurry. And, I need a few moments to change back" she said with a firm voice.

"Fine, fine, don't push" Erza said as she got inside the dressing room. Lucy quickly changed back to her current outfit and waited for Erza, before realization suddenly hit her.

"Did I just push Erza? What was I thinking? Man, I'm lucky she got all shy and didn't get mad at me?" she thought with a slight shiver. Not that Erza would actually do anything that bad since they were friends, but an angry Erza is usually something that should be avoided.

"Hey, Lucy? I'm coming out" Erza said from behind the curtain.

"Okay Erza. I'm waiting" Lucy said, as Erza got out of the dressing room.

"How do I look?" Erza said with some uncertainty. Lucy stared at her with wide eyes. Erza looked simply amazing. The dress hugged her figure perfectly, highlighting her curvaceous body, and showing off her beautiful and toned legs, while the colour of the dress matched Erza's hair perfectly.

"You look… amazing! Seriously, Erza. You look absolutely great!" Lucy managed to say in awe.

"Thank you, Lucy! It does look good. I guess I will buy this one" Erza said with a satisfied smile as she checked herself in the mirror. Lucy kept staring at Erza's legs, and had to shake her head quickly, before Erza noticed her.

"Yeah, you should. It's perfect for you" she managed to say.

"Did you find anything else?" Erza said as she turned towards her.

"Huh? Yeah, I think I did. How about this one?" Lucy said as she picked another outfit. Erza seemed to be more relaxed after this and had fun with Lucy as they chose and tried different outfits. Lucy tried several outfits, including a pink spring dress with straps that tied behind her neck, leaving her shoulders and back exposed, a colourful dress with a flowery pattern and a tight black tank top, with matching black shorts that gave her an athletic look, while Erza tried almost as many outfits, including a purple, riffled shirt with matching shorts, and a blue tank top with a yellow skirt. They also tried some more formal dresses, including a long, black evening gown for Lucy and a long, red strapless dress for Erza that let her shoulders bare.

"I'm glad you came with me, Lucy. You really have a great taste" Erza said with enthusiasm.

"Thanks Erza, so do you. I think that would be all for now. I only hope I can afford all this" Lucy said with some nervousness.

"Don't worry about this, I got it covered. But before we go, there's something else too that I would like to try" Erza said thoughtfully.

"Huh? What else do you need to try? We've tried nearly half the store, from casual shirts to formal dresses. What more do you have in mind?" Erza said with some wonder.

"Lingerie" Erza said simply.

"Oh, yeah. Wait, WHAT?" Lucy yelled in surprise, causing some of the customers and the assistants to turn towards her. "I'm sorry, everyone" Lucy said with a nervous smile before she turned to Erza. "Seriously, now. What?" she said with a lower voice.

"You heard what I said. Lingerie. I noticed that this store also has a selection of them, and I would like to try a few" Erza said.

"Yes but, Erza… You know, I'm not sure about that" Lucy stammered.

"What's wrong Lucy? Come on, we're both girls here. Do you really expect me to buy something like this with Natsu or Gray?" Erza said as she folded her arms.

"No. But if you think about it, you wouldn't be able to go even for regular clothes with those two. They would probably get bored after five minutes. Anyway, that's not the point now" Lucy said, shaking her head quickly.

"You're saying that you are not going to help your friend then? You are going to let me pick bad underwear so they will make fun of me?" Erza said with a serious expression.

"Are you kidding me? Who do you think is going to see you in your underwear? Why would anyone see you in your underwear?" Lucy whispered in exasperation.

"That's beside the point. You know how important it is for a girl to look good Lucy, even in her underwear" Erza said, still having a serious expression.

"That's a very strange kind of reason. Fine then, go and pick whatever you like, and I'll tell you what I think. Just, don't overdo it, okay? Pick only a few" Lucy sighed in defeat.

"Okay, I will. Thanks Lucy, I knew I could count on you" Erza said with a happy smile as she moved to another side, deeper in the store where the lingerie section was, with Lucy walking behind her.

"Erza in lingerie? Are you kidding me? What kind of joke is that?" she thought frustrated. Lucy was already flustered enough with all the outfits that Erza had already tried. Some of them were simple and yet sexy, especially some particularly light ones that showed either her legs, or her back, or even her stomach, but that was something else. Lingerie meant that only the absolutely essential would be covered, and Lucy wasn't sure if she could take that, especially in that situation. She had to admit that part of her was really intrigued, if not interested. Besides, she was about to see Erza in, possibly sexy, underwear. How could she complain about that? But what if it was too much to handle? What if she lost control and ran out of the store, or even worse, jump at Erza at that very moment? Lucy took a deep breath.

"Erza is my friend! She needs my opinion, and I will give it to her. And even if I feel something more about her, I will wait for the right moment. Not here, not now" she thought decisively, as she waited for Erza to come out of the dressing room. "Besides, it's not that bad. I have seen Erza in underwear before. I have even seen her naked before. Like last night, at the inn" the blond girl though as memories from the previous night came to her mind, when Erza got out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel and then let it fall on the floor, before she requiped into her pyjamas. Lucy's face immediately turned red at that thought. "Well, that didn't help at all! Great!" she thought as she tried to shake the image out of her head. She then raised her head and noticed that Erza had slightly pulled the curtain, her face been barely visible.

"I'm ready Lucy. Come inside" she whispered.

"Come inside? Why?" Lucy screamed in her head. If watching Erza in underwear was bad, then watching her in the small, confined space of the dressing room was even worse. But then, Erza couldn't simply come out and show Lucy her outfit, like she did with the regular clothes, so her going inside actually made some sense. Lucy sighed heavily, and got inside the dressing room.

"How do I look?" Erza asked with a smile. Lucy nearly got a head rush, her face turning even redder than Erza's hair, and got a strange shade of vermilion red. Erza was clad in a black, lacey bra, with matching panties. Lucy was almost sure that there was smoke coming from her ears, as she slowly moved her eyes from the top to the bottom of the vision in front of her. Erza seemed slightly flushed, but had a small smile on her pretty face, Lucy's eyes then moved downer, toward Erza's ample bosom that was partly covered by the black, lace bra, to the her exposed, firm stomach and her long, smooth legs.

"You look great, Erza. Really, really good" Lucy finally managed to say.

"Really Lucy? You don't think that it's maybe too much?" Erza said as she took another look at herself.

"No, no, you look… just great. Now, if you are finished, let's go" Lucy said hastily.

"But I have one more set that I want to ask you about" Erza said in some protest.

"You know something? I'm sure it will be just great, like this one! I'm sure about that! Now, let's go already" Lucy said eagerly, feeling like she needed some fresh air.

"Okay, you're right. If you want to try anything, I'll be happy to tell you. There are some sets that I'm sure you will like" Erza suggested.

"Um, thank you, but I'm good. I'm fine with, what I have right now" Lucy said hastily, waving her hands in defense.

"I guess you are right. Okay then, let me change and we are leaving" Erza said simply as she unhooked the bra and let it fall on the floor, causing Lucy to nearly black out.

"You know something, Erza? I'll just wait outside" she said as she turned hastily towards the exit, crushed on the wall next to her, and then managed to get out of the dressing room, holding her nose.

"Are you okay Lucy?" Erza said with some concern.

"Yeah, I'm just fine" Lucy said rubbing her nose. She then took some deep breaths, trying to calm herself. "Why does she keep getting naked around me? Is she doing that on purpose?" she thought with frustration. It didn't take long for Erza to get dressed before she got out of the dressing room.

"I'm ready. Shall we?" she said with a smile.

"Sure, let's go" Lucy said, after she managed to calm down during the time that Erza was still changing, her face still had a faint shade of pink though. It turned out that Lucy was barely able to afford the outfits that she had chosen, Erza on the other hand had no problem covering them. The two girls greeted the shop assistant and got out of the store.

* * *

"So, this is how it feels to be from this side of the counter. It's a little harder than I thought" Cana said as she poured another glass of beer and served it.

"It gets easier if you get used to it. I got to say though, you're pretty good Cana. You have a talent for that" Mirajane said impressed, with a smiley expression.

"Thanks Mira! I think it helps that I have you showing me around. You are a good teacher" Cana said as she smiled back.

"That's nice of you. Okay, now that things have calmed down a little bit here, I think we need to go in the back again. There are some things that we need around here" Mirajane said as she took an inspecting look around.

"You think? Well, you know better, let's go" Can said with a shrug. The two girls walked in the back of the kitchen, and got inside a storeroom. There were several boxes, bags and barrels around, and there was also a wooden ladder that led to an upper floor trough a trap door.

"I'll go up the ladder and bring some things from the loft. It's pretty cramped so I cannot totally fit inside. I will give the boxes to you and you will leave them on the floor, and then we'll take them outside. They are not that many, so the two of us can carry them. Okay?" Mirajane explained.

"Okay, whatever you say" Cana said simply. Mirajane climbed up the ladder, opened the trap door and brought down a wooden box while still on the ladder.

"Here, take this" she said.

"I got it" Cana said as she took the box and put it on the floor. Mirajane took another box, and gave it to Cana.

"There's another one" she said.

"Okay, I got this one too. Are there more left?" Cana said.

"Well, no. Not much. Here's one more" Mirajane said as she brought down one more box and gave it to Cana.

"That's a heavy one" Cana said.

"And one more thing. This bag here, I got it" Mirajane said as she grabbed a large sack. As she took it out of the loft, she slipped on the ladder and lost her balance. Her eyes shot wide open in surprise as she was slowly falling backwards.

"Mira!" Cana yelled in shock as she moved closer towards the ladder and opened her arms. Mirajane fell on top of her, causing both of them to fall on the ground with a loud thud, while the sack that Mirajane was holding was tore open and covered them with flour. Mirajane and Cana started coughing, as they tried to sit up.

"Are you okay, Mira?" Cana said with worry as she held Mirajane tightly in her arms.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thanks, Cana" Mirajane said.

"You idiot! Couldn't you be more careful? You could have seriously hurt yourself!" Cana scolded her.

"I'm sorry Cana. Hey, are you hurt?" Mirajane said as she turned towards her.

"I took a bump, but I'm fine. But I was really scared there, you know. What were you thinking, climbing that ladder with that dress" Cana said with a worried expression, still slightly shaking.

"Well, everything turned out fine. You saved me, Cana" Mirajane said with a sweet smile, causing Cana to smile back and calm down. It took her a while to realize how tightly she was holding Mirajane, or how close they were. Cana gulped hard.

"Anyway. Next time, be more careful. And you owe me a drink for that" she said, looking to another direction.

"As many as you want" Mirajane said as she started laughing. Cana looked at her puzzled and wondered if she had hit her head or something, but soon realized that they were both covered in flower. They were a complete mess and looked even more white than Mirajane's hair. Soon Cana started laughing along with Mirajane.

"We should better clear ourselves first. We look ridiculous!" Mirajane said after a while, still laughing.

"Yeah, I guess you are right" Cana said, laughing as well, as Mirajane got up, helped Cana back on her feet and walked out of the storeroom.

* * *

"So, what shall we do now?" Lucy said, as Erza and she walked inside the city.

"I need to go somewhere. Would you mind coming along?" Erza said as she turned towards her.

"Sure, I don't want our day out to finish so quickly" Lucy said with enthusiasm.

"I'm glad to hear that. Come on" Erza said with a smile.

"We still have several things. Okay, let's go by my place first to leave the clothes and then we continue our walk" Lucy said.

"Sounds good. Let's go then" Erza said as they made their way in the city.

**Author's note: ****I think this chapter had a little more humor, in addition to the romance. I tried to move a little more with both of the main pairings, although they still seem to be at a kinda friendly level. Anyway, I really hope you liked it. Until next time.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note:**** The new chapter is up, I hope you enjoy it. I do not own Fairy Tail.**

**MORE THAN FRIENDS**

**CHAPTER 6**

Lucy and Erza continued their way, and it wasn't long until they reached Lucy's apartment.

"Here we are. We will leave our stuff here and then continue our walk. We can come back later and carry your stuff back to Fairy Hills" Lucy said as she reached for her belt and pulled a key chain with a number of small, silver coloured keys.

"I still think we could continue our walk without leaving our shopping here. I wouldn't mind carrying them" Erza said as they entered the apartment.

"Well, I'm not that surprised to hear that. After all, you do carry that large wagon in most of the missions we go to, so a couple of bags wouldn't be much for you" Lucy said, smiling.

"What's wrong with my wagon? I like to be prepared for every occasion" Erza said simply with a shrug.

"I know, I know" Lucy said as she put her bags near her dresser and took a deep breath. "Here, you leave your things next to mine. Do you want a drink?" she said a she turned towards Erza.

"That would be nice" Erza said as Lucy smiled and moved towards the kitchen. Erza walked inside the room and took a look at the place around her. Of course it wasn't the first time that she had been inside Lucy's apartment, she had seen it several times before. And most of them would be when she simply got inside the room along with Natsu and Gray, most of the times from the window, a few times from the chimney, and sometimes simply from the front door while claiming that Lucy had forgotten her keys in the guild and she had simply visited to return them. As usual, Lucy would protest in a rather vivid way each time they barged in her room, but in that case she would question intensely Erza's reasons, mentioning that she had her keys every time that she entered her apartment and sometimes she noticed that some spare keys were actually missing after some of Erza's visits, and Erza would just dismiss those accusations with a wave of her hand. The red haired girl smiled and shook her head at all those encounters and reached for her pocket, where she pulled a small, silver coloured key, quite similar to the ones that Lucy had a while ago. The truth is that sometimes, very few actually, she may have accidentally took one of Lucy's spare keys, but that was only so she could check up on her should something happen. But since entering someone's apartment without her permission wasn't very polite, even if her intentions were good, Erza decided to simply leave the spare key on the dresser. She would just have to settle for the window and the chimney. Erza sighed and looked around. She always liked Lucy's apartment. It was nice, cozy, rather large, although not as large as her main room at Fairy Hills, and pretty comfortable. It had several furnishing, including a wardrobe, a dresser, a bookcase and a chest, that served as storage rooms and were full of stuff. The walls were covered by a pink wallpaper with a flowery pattern, and the fluffy bed was also covered with a pink blanket. The bookcase was filled with several books, and there were also some books on the desk, along with pens, pencils, quilts, notebooks and sheets of paper. Erza smiled as she thought that those two aspects of the room represented Lucy's character fairly well, she was girly and liked cute things and bright colours, but she was also smart and intellectual. Erza suddenly felt very fond of Lucy at that moment, and she felt her face slightly heat up.

"Why do I feel so flustered again? Maybe it has something to do with the weather, it's pretty warm today" the red haired girl thought as she tried to cool herself with her hand.

"Hey Erza, sorry it took me a while. I only had some banana juice, I hope you like it" Lucy said as she got inside the living room, holding to large glasses of juice.

"Thanks Lucy, I needed that!" Erza said as she took one of the glasses and took a large sip. Lucy tilted her head and blinked in wonder.

"Wow, I didn't know you liked banana juice that much" she said.

"No, it's not that. I mean, yes I do like banana juice but… Is it hot today? You know, the weather?" Erza said a little hastily.

"I don't think so. It has a nice, warm weather, but it's not that hot" Lucy commented.

"Then I guess, it's just me" Erza said casually as she walked towards the desk and noticed a pack of written sheets of paper. "Is that your novel?" she said as she turned towards Lucy.

"Ah, yes it is! Don't look at it, it's not ready yet!" Lucy yelled as she run towards the desk and stuffed the sheets on a shelf.

"Calm down Lucy, I won't see it without your permission" Erza said with a smile. "Although, I don't really get why you are so secretive about it. I know that you are writing it for your own pleasure, but what good is it going to be if you won't let anyone else read it?" she added a little more seriously.

"I know, you are right Erza. It's just that… it's not ready yet. And I have promised Levy-chan that she would be the first one to read it" Lucy said shyly. "Plus, I don't think that it's that good anyway" she added with a sad smile as she looked at her feet. Erza looked at her for a moment and left her glass on the table, before she walked towards Lucy and put her arms around her, closing her into a tight embrace.

"Erza!" Lucy said surprised.

"You can be so silly sometimes, Lucy. Of course, it's going to be good, you are one of the smartest, most sensitive people I know. And even if it doesn't turn out as good as you want, then who cares? You are writing this for fun, aren't you? Or are you really afraid that we will think any less of you if it isn't that good?" Erza said with a soothing voice.

"Well, I don't know. Maybe. I know it's stupid" Lucy said silently.

"If you want to hold it to yourself, then so be it. But I don't think that any of us would think any less of you, or make fun of you. Although, I am pretty sure that it will turn out just fine. Don't talk yourself down so much Lucy, have more faith in your abilities" Erza with a comforting voice.

"You're right. Thank you Erza" Lucy said as she relaxed in the embrace, and put her arms around Erza as well. The two girls remained like this for a while, holding each other in a warm hug. Lucy felt like she could hold Erza like this for hours.

"This feels nice!" Erza said, rubbing softly Lucy's back.

"I know" Lucy said happily.

"Is it cotton made?" Erza said.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Lucy said with confusion as she slightly pulled away from the hug and looked at Erza.

"Your shirt. It's really soft. Is it cotton made?" Erza said with genuine wonder. Lucy looked at her with narrowed eyes.

"Yes it is. It is cotton made" she said eventually with a deadpan expression.

"Is there something wrong Lucy? You look funny" Erza tilting her head in confusion, after she noticed Lucy's expression. Lucy couldn't help but burst into laughs at Erza's cute, innocent look.

"You're so dense sometimes, Erza!" she said between her laughs.

"Is that so?" Erza said with a smile.

"Well yeah, sometimes. Anyway, let's just go" Lucy after she finally calmed down. Erza simply shook her head, still smiling, and got out off the apartment along with Lucy.

"So, where are we going?" Lucy asked as they made their way in the city.

"To the armor shop. I gave a few of my armors for polishing a couple of days ago, they should be ready by now" Erza said.

"You give your armors for polishing?" Lucy said with some surprise.

"Of course. Maintaining my armors in good condition is really important so I can use them properly and to their full extend. It helps them retain and even amplify their magic, they are more effective and durable in combat, and they also look better. That's also important" Erza explained.

"I see. I never thought that it would be so important to keep them in good condition, or that you even had to give them for maintenance. But now that I think about it, I guess it does make sense" Lucy said thoughtfully.

"What about you Lucy? Don't you take care of your keys?" Erza said as she turned towards Lucy.

"Well, yeah. I don't go to the armor shop like you, but I do shine them, occasionally" Lucy said.

"Does that help with their magic?" Erza asked.

"Not really, they just look better. Plus, the spirits like it when you take care of their keys, so that's also pretty important" Lucy said.

"You see, then? Taking care of your equipment is important, for many reasons" Erza said.

"I guess you are right. And sometimes it's a pleasant way to pass your time. Still, I don't think Natsu or Gray have this kind of problem. Natsu simply uses his punches and Gray can create pretty much every weapon" Lucy commented.

"That's true. I may have several weapons, but eventually Gray has more variety with his magic" Erza said.

"Yeah, but depending to the armor that you are using, you have more variety in magic. I have seen you use Fire Magic, Thunder Magic, Water Magic, Speed Magic, and who knows what else. That must be pretty awesome. And convenient" Lucy said pointedly.

"What can I say? Using Requip Magic does have its advantages" Erza said with a smirk.

"Of course it does" Lucy said, shaking her head.

"Here we are" Erza said as she suddenly stopped in front of the armor store. It was an average sized building, with gray, stone made walls, and a wooden roof covered with brown hay. There was a large, colourful shield on the side of the entrance and four smaller ones, each one with different colours, above the entrance.

"So, this is where you come for your armors?" Lucy said.

"Yeah, this is one of the places that I come for my armors, but not the only one. There are a few other blacksmiths in Magnolia as well, and I have visited all of them. But this place is one of the finest blacksmiths in town, and it has a good variety of armors" Erza said.

"I see" Lucy said as they got inside the store. Inside, the store was pretty spacious and it seemed rather cozy for an armor shop. There were armors and shields, all neatly put on large shelves, wooden cases or hanging from the walls. They were all well shined and in great condition, some were made with steel, some were leather made for more agility, and some of them seemed rather colourful, while others were decorated with shining stones. On the side of the store, behind a large counter, was a tall, middle aged man, with brown hair and a brown beard, dressed in a black, short sleeved shirt, brown trousers and a brown apron.

"Erza! Welcome back, it's good to see you again!" the brown haired man said enthusiastically, with his loud voice.

"It's good to see you too, Henry-san. How've you been?" Erza said politely as the two girls walked towards the counter.

"Just great, thanks for asking. And I'm glad to see that you are doing well too. I guess you are here for your armor, isn't that right?" the brown haired man said.

"That's right. Let me introduce you, this is Lucy Heartfilia, a fellow Fairy Tail mage and a dear friend. Lucy, this is Henry, one of the finest blacksmiths in Magnolia" Erza said as she pointed towards Lucy and the blacksmith.

"Nice to meet you sir" Lucy said with a kind smile.

"The pleasure is all mine, dear. You look lovelier than every precious stone I've worked on" Henry said with a warm smile under his thick beard.

"Thank you sir" Lucy said with a slight blush.

"Is that the friend that you were talking about the other day, Erza?" Henry said.

"Um, yeah. She is the one" Erza said with some embarrassment.

"You were talking about me? What did you say?" Lucy said with vivid curiosity.

"Nothing, really. Just, that we are friends. That's all" Erza said avoiding her look and looking towards the floor. Lucy realized that Erza wasn't telling the whole story, but decided to leave it for the moment and ask later when they would be just the two of them. The blacksmith laughed silently.

"Hey Erza, Julia is here. Want me to call her?" he said.

"Sure, if she's not busy" Erza said lightly.

"I don't think she's busy at the moment. Oh look, here she comes" Henry said as he looked towards another side of the store. Lucy turned along with Erza towards the same direction to see the newcomer, and her eyes shot wide open.

"Whoa!" she thought as the newcomer approached them. It was a tall, young woman, with long, blond hair, caught in a ponytail, dressed in brown tights and a crimson top. The top seemed rather light, and left her tight stomach, as well as her strong back exposed. She had a rather well built body, but she still looked cute and pretty feminine.

"Hey Erza! It's so nice to see you again" the blond girl said enthusiastically, as she held Erza in a tight hug.

"It's good to see you too, Julia" Erza said as she struggled to breath. Lucy wondered how strong that girl was if she could make even Erza struggle for breath.

"What took you so long? I was wondering when you were going to visit. Your armor has been ready for a while now. I tried my best, and it's as good as new" Julia said as she broke the hug with a wide smile.

"I was planning on visiting at some point. I'm sorry you had to wait" Erza said.

"Now, now Julia, don't make the poor girl feel bad. It's not like it has been that long since she last visited" Henry said with an amused tone in his heavy voice.

"I know, you're right. It's just that I was looking forward to showing Erza the new armor that I made" Julia said rubbing the back of her head.

"You made a new armor?" Erza said with interest.

"Of course she did. It's a piece of art, like the rest of her works" the blacksmith said proudly.

"He, heh, thanks Henry-san! But you know that I still have much to learn" Julia said with a smile before she turned towards Lucy. "Hey, who's our new guest?" she said.

"This is Lucy, another mage of Fairy Tail" Erza introduced Lucy.

"Nice to meet you!" Lucy said smiling.

"So, you are Lucy? Well come here! Erza's friends are my friends" Julia said enthusiastically as she pulled Lucy in a tight hug. Lucy felt herself flying off the ground and for a moment she was afraid that she would be crushed from the hug, but she found herself in a rather warm embrace. It was much more tender than she expected and Lucy quickly found her face heat up after feeling the girl's well toned body against her own.

"Yeah, I'm happy to meet you too" she stammered. Fortunately, Julia let her almost as quickly as she hugged her.

"He, heh, sorry for that. I guess I got too excited. But you know, you guys look really cute together" the blond girl said as she saw both Lucy and Erza standing next to each other.

"Cute together? What do you mean cute together?" Lucy said flustered.

"Don't mind her Lucy, Julia always makes jokes like that. She also keeps saying that her and I would look cute together" Erza said trying to sound calm, but couldn't completely hide her own faint blush.

"She says what?!" Lucy said, exasperated.

"Julia, can you please go in the back and bring Erza's armor? You can also bring the armor that you made. And please, ask the boys how are they proceeding with their own works" Henry said a little hastily.

"Oh, right!" Julia said as she walked towards in another room of the store. Lucy folded her arms and had a slightly pouting expression on her face, while Erza took a deep breath and leaned against the counter. Henry took a small shield from behind the counter and started cleaning it with an amused smile.

"Here's your armor, Erza" Julia said after she came with two wooden cases and put the one on the counter, while she left the other one on the floor. Erza took her armor from the case and smiled with satisfaction.

"It looks great! Thank you Julia" she said as she turned towards the other girl.

"Don't mention it Erza. Also, I have the other armor that I made here, if you are interested" Julia said smiling, as she pointed at the other wooden case.

"Sure, why not" Erza nodded.

"Okay then, here it goes. What do you think?" Julia said as she took the armor out of the case and showed it to Erza. The armor was dark coloured, almost black, but it had a silver outlining that made it look brighter. The plate looked big enough to cover the entire upper body, it looked pretty sturdy, and it had a silver coloured Fairy Tail mark on the left side of the torso. The gauntlets had a similar design, with a silver line pattern, and the elbows were shaped like they had small wings on each side.

"It's really good!" Erza said with enthusiasm, as she took a closer look.

"Thanks! It's made from a special metal that makes it pretty durable but, more importantly, light. You'll be able to move faster with this one" Julia said with a professional look.

"That's pretty awesome! Did you make it by yourself?" Lucy said, impressed.

"Yep. Well, I had some help" Julia said with some embarrassment.

"Nonsense. All I did was give some pieces of advice. This is your work, Julia. And it looks even better than your previous ones" Henry said with a warm smile.

"Thank you, Henry-san" Julia said with a happy smile. "So, how about you Lucy? Are you interested in anything?" the blond girl said as she turned towards Lucy.

"I don't think so. You see, wearing armor is not that much my style" Lucy said waving her hands.

"Come on Lucy. Just take a look. You may find something that you like" Erza encouraged her.

"You think so?" Lucy said with some uncertainty.

"Of course! Come on" Julia said enthusiastically as she grabbed Lucy from her hand. Lucy felt once again like she was lifted off the ground until she found herself standing in front of a stack of armors.

"What do you think about this?" Julia said pointing at a rather big, plate armor.

"It looks kinda heavy" Lucy said.

"How about this? This one is leather made" Julia said as she pointed at another one which seemed lighter.

"This looks better, but I don't know. It seems rather, tight" Lucy said as she took a better look at the really tight, leather armor.

"Then this should be better. This one is steel made, but lighter" Julia said as she showed a different armor that looked more like armored panties.

"No way! That barely covers anything" Lucy said frantically.

"Maybe it is a little bit too light. Okay, then this should be okay" Julia said as she pointed at one more armor that looked more complete.

"This one looks good. But it seems a little bit too, pink" Lucy said as she looked at the armor which seemed rather pink coloured, with a light silver outline.

"I think it would suit you. It's not too heavy either" Julia said.

"I agree. And to tell you the truth, I wouldn't mind wearing this one" Erza said after she had moved next to them.

"You think so? Okay then, I'll try it" Lucy said.

"Good! Here, put it on" Julia said as she gave the armor to Lucy. Lucy took the armor and noticed the two girls staring at her.

"Is there a place where I can change?" she said as she sweatdropped.

"Oh, sure. Let me show you" Julia said as she showed Lucy to a room in the back of the store and went back to Erza. Lucy quickly put on the armor parts and got out of the room.

"So, um, how do I look?" she said with some embarrassment.

"You look great, Lucy" Erza said with a smile.

"I was right. It does suit you" Julia said smiling as well. Lucy took a look at herself. The armor seemed to fit her rather well, and it was indeed not very heavy, but it was also lighter than she expected since it left her stomach and her thighs exposed.

"Well, it's pretty good I guess. Okay, I'll think about it" Lucy said with a faint blush. "Now, I'm going to change back" she continued as she headed towards the back of the store again.

"I'll be near the counter' Erza said as she walked along with the other girl towards the counter. Lucy quickly changed back and walked towards there as well, where Erza had already taken her armor back and the new armor that Julia made. The two girls then waved at the kind blacksmith and his enthusiastic assistant and got out of the store.

"I don't get why you didn't take the armor" Erza said.

"I told you, I'll think about it. Now that I know the place, we can come again" Lucy said.

"Really? I was afraid that you got bored" Erza said with some surprise.

"No, it was actually kinda fun. And that Julia girl, she is pretty nice" Lucy said with a smirk.

"I know. So, what do we do now?" Erza said.

"I'm kinda hungry. How about we go eat something?" Lucy suggested.

"Good idea. I'm pretty hungry too. Let's go" Erza said as they continued their way.

* * *

"Hey Mira, can you bring me another one?" Cana said.

"Sure Cana. Coming right away" Mirajane said as she walked towards her with another large glass.

"Thanks, Mira" Cana said as she took the glass.

"You're welcome. But you know, I did say that I would give you as many drinks as you want, but that doesn't mean that you should overdo it again" Mirajane said.

"Come on, I haven't drank that much" Cana said while waving her hand dismissively.

"I know, I'm just saying" Mirajane said lightly as she took another glass and started wiping it.

"Do you feel better? That was quite a fall you took earlier" Cana said after she took a sip from her drink.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it. Besides, I should be asking you about that. You took most of the bump when you caught me" Mirajane said as she looked at her.

"I'm fine, it wasn't that bad. It's not like you are that heavy" Cana said simply.

"I'm not that heavy? Is that supposed to be a compliment, Cana?" Mirajane said as she put her hands on her hips.

"Well, yeah. I mean, isn't it?" Cana said a little nervously.

"I guess I'll take it as one" Mirajane said with an amused smile as she went back to wiping the glass.

"Okay then. You little tease" Cana mumbled.

"Did you say something?" Mirajane said curiously.

"No, nothing. I was just thinking, what do you think Lucy and Erza are doing? They've been gone for a while now. Do you think they are having fun?" Cana said.

"Oh, I'm sure about that! I'm pretty sure that they are having a great time together" Mirajane said, smiling with certainty.

* * *

"So, what do you think about this place?" Erza said as she took a seat.

"I know this place, I've passed by it before. It looks pretty good" Lucy said as she looked around. After walking for a while, Lucy and Erza decided to stop by a Barbeque place, on Erza's suggestion, to eat lunch.

"I'm glad that you like it" Erza said with a smile.

"The dishes look pretty loaded though" Lucy said after she peaked at the menu.

"I don't think it's that bad. I have been here before" Erza said with a shrug.

"Easy for you to say. You keep eating all these cakes and yet you still manage to look amazing. And from what I see in the desserts here, there is a good variety of cakes too. Is this why you like this place?" Lucy asked as she narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"Maybe. Anyway, I don't think that you have a problem with that thing. You look great too, you know" Erza said.

"Thanks, Erza. Well, I guess we'll have just to order then" Lucy said as she waved at the waiter. The two girls enjoyed their lunch in a good mood, Lucy had a burger and Erza ordered a steak, and then enjoyed their desserts as well.

"I'm full!" Lucy said as she leaned on her seat with a satisfied smile.

"Me too. I told you this was a nice place" Erza said.

"Don't you think that second piece of cake was a bit too much?" Lucy said with one eyebrow raised.

"You had cake too" Erza pointed out.

"Yeah, but it was only one piece. Oh well, we should just relax for the moment" Lucy said as she sat more comfortably.

"I agree" Erza nodded and leaned back on her seat as well.

* * *

It was nearly afternoon when the two girls arrived at the guild.

"I wonder how everyone did in the guild today" Erza said.

"I'm pretty sure they had fun like us" Lucy said with a smile.

"You're probably right. We are a lively guild after all" Erza said smiling as well.

"It was really fun today, Erza. We should do that again" Lucy said.

"Of course. Besides it's not like we won't see each other again, we meet each other in the guild almost daily" Erza said.

"Yeah, it was just the two of us though. But you are right, I guess" Lucy said with a sigh.

"Anyway, we barely saw the others today. Let's go and see how they've been" Erza said.

"Sure, and then you should come to my apartment. You know, to pick up your shopping bags" Lucy said with a faint blush.

"You're right. Okay then, we'll go by your place later" Erza said as they walked towards the large building.

**Author's note:****This chapter focused a little more on Lucy and Erza's day out as they continued their walk, the next one will revolve around a new event and it will move a little more with the romance. I'll try to make the next chapter a fast update. Until next time!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note: ****New update, I hope you enjoy it! I do not own Fairy Tail.**

**MORE THAN FRIENDS**

**CHAPTER 7**

The guild was nearly empty, since most of the mages had already left, when Lucy and Erza got inside and made their way towards the bar, greeting their fellow guild members who were still there.

"Welcome back Lucy, Erza!" Mirajane greeted with a wide smile as the two girls moved closer.

"Hey guys, it was about time you got back. You've been gone for nearly the entire day" Cana said.

"Well, it was a full day. We didn't notice how fast the day passed" Lucy said as she took a seat.

"How were things here?" Erza said as she sat next to Lucy.

"Oh you know, the usual. Cana helped me with the bar today" Mirajane said.

"Did she now?" Lucy said as she turned towards Cana with a knowing look.

"Yep, that's right. There were two hot bartenders today" Cana said proudly.

"So, how did she do? Was she good?" Lucy said curiously as she turned towards Mirajane.

"She still has some things to learn, but she did okay. She was better than I expected, actually" Mirajane said with a sweet smile.

"Gee, thanks Mira! That's really nice of you" Cana said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Cana knows the bar better than anyone around here. I'm surprised it took her so long to actually go behind the counter" Erza said in a matter of fact way.

"Huh, I've never thought about this that way before" Mirajane said with surprise.

"What about you guys? How did you pass your day?" Cana said.

"Oh, we did a bunch of stuff! We went shopping for new clothes, we got some good stuff from there, then we went to an armor shop, we went for lunch and then we took a nice walk before we came here" Lucy said.

"This does sound like fun" Mirajane commented.

"I get going for clothes, but what did you do at the armor shop? I mean, I understand why Erza would go there, but weren't you bored, Lucy?" Cana said in wonder.

"Not really. It was actually kinda fun" Lucy said.

"She even tried on an armor" Erza said.

"What?! Lucy, wearing armor? You're kidding, right?" Cana said before she burst into laughing.

"I don't get the joke. Why is that so strange?" Lucy said as she folded her arms and furrowed her eyebrows.

"Well, it's not that it's really funny. More like, a little unusual. Cana, stop laughing already!" Mirajane said as she tried to hold back laughter herself.

"Sorry, sorry. Fine, I'll stop" Cana said as she tried to take a breath.

"You got to admit though, Lucy. Even you found it a little strange. I lost track of how many times I told you to try one" Erza lightly.

"Fine, you're right. I guess it is a little funny, if you think about it" Lucy said with a sigh.

"I suppose Natsu and Gray are already gone, right?" Erza said as she scanned the tables.

"Yeah, they left a while ago. Like most of the others. It's getting kinda late, maybe we should call it a day as well" Mirajane said.

"Sounds good to me. I am feeling a little winded" Cana said as she stretched her arms.

"I agree. Lucy, I'll come by your place now, if it's okay with you" Erza said as she turned towards Lucy.

"Oh yeah, of course" Lucy stammered a little.

"You'll go by Lucy's place? Why, will you spend the night there?" Cana said with wide eyes.

"Come on Cana, don't be curious!" Mirajane scolded her, before she turned towards Erza. "Will you?" she continued curiously.

"Why are you suddenly so surprised about that? I've been to her place before" Erza said in confusion.

"Um, calm down guys. It's not like that, she'll just come by to take her shopping bags! That's all" Lucy said hastily, waving her hands behind Erza's back.

"What do you mean, it's not like that?" Erza said suspiciously as she threw Lucy an inspecting look.

"Nothing! Come on, let's go already! We'll see you guys tomorrow" Lucy said nervously, as she quickly got up from her seat.

"Okay, good night then!" Mirajane said with a warm smile, as Erza got up as well.

"Have fun you two!" Cana said with a knowing smile. Lucy quickly pulled Erza before she asked anything else, sending an angry look towards Cana at the same time. Mirajane and Cana couldn't contain themselves anymore, and burst into laughing after Lucy and Erza got out of the door.

"You are such a tease sometimes Cana! You nearly gave her away" Mirajane said while laughing.

"Come on Mira, I was just kidding. It's not like I said that much. And I don't want to hear about teasing from you!" Cana said pointedly.

"I wonder what you mean by that" Mirajane said with an innocent expression.

"Of course you do" Cana said with a chuckle, as she shook her head.

* * *

"Here we are. I think your stuff should be around here" Lucy said as the two girls entered her apartment.

"I still wonder what Cana and Mira were talking about though" Erza said as she folded her arms.

"Nothing, they were just joking. They probably had a few more drinks, sitting at the bar almost all day. Ah, here they are!" Lucy said as she picked up Erza's bags.

"Thanks! Well, I should better get going now. I'll see you tomorrow, Lucy" Erza said with smile, as she started walking towards the door.

"Yeah, sure. Wait, Erza I need to ask you something!" Lucy suddenly said. Erza, who had nearly reached the door, turned around and looked at Lucy with a curious expression.

"Of course, Lucy. What is it?" she said.

"Um, when we went to the armor shop, both the blacksmith and Julia seemed to know me. They both said that you have mentioned me before. So I'm curious, what exactly did you tell them about me?" Lucy said with some hesitance. "Of course, you don't have to answer if you don't want to" she added hastily, trying to maintain a light tone in her voice.

"No, it's fine. I don't mind telling you" Erza said as she looked at the floor, and Lucy noticed that she had a faint blush in her face. "It's not that much, really. I just said that you are a really good friend" she continued.

"Oh, okay then. That's, fine" Lucy said with a hint of disappointment.

"It's not only that" Erza said a little louder, as she faced Lucy this time. "I'm not really sure how to put it. Remember, when you first came to the guild? What did the others say about me?" Erza said with a calmer voice.

"Well, they did say that you were kinda scary" Lucy said, as she remembered Natsu's over the top reactions when he talked about Erza.

"That's what I thought. I have always felt like Fairy Tail was my home and I was friends with everyone, even though I hadn't started very well and it was Gray who helped me open up more. But even so, sometimes I didn't feel very comfortable, I'm not really sure why, and I had to put on a strict or even scary face. Maybe, because I was afraid" Erza said with a small smile. Lucy kept listening with the outmost attention, knowing that it was one of this special moments that someone was about to say something from his heart. "It was the same with you, at first. I guess, you were even afraid of me at some point" Erza continued with a sad smile. "But this slowly changed. You remained close to me, and you even admired me. I remember how embarrassed I felt when we found your letters after we thought you had left. Cool and beautiful, warm and full of passion. That's what you had written" she said as Lucy faintly blushed, with an embarrassed smile on her face. "And after a while, we started to get closer. Even after you learnt about my past, you still remained close to me. What I'm trying to say is, you are not just my best friend. You are, something more. I can't actually explain it, but you are very dear to me" Erza finally said, until she felt two arms wrap around her and a warm body pressing against her.

"Erza! I'm so glad" Lucy said with a stuffed voice.

"Lucy" Erza said with a silent voice as she returned the hug.

"You have no idea how glad I am to hear that. I, I feel the same way" Lucy said happily, as the two girls remained in this position for a while. Lucy felt like she could understand Erza a little better than before, like their relationship had grown stronger. Her face started to heat up as she held Erza closer, her heart was racing like crazy, and she felt a tingling in her stomach. "This feeling. It's more intense than before" Lucy thought. What should she do? Should she tell Erza about her feelings? Was that the right time? Or she would simply risk that tender moment if she asked more? Lucy felt her head become heavy, she was so confused and she wished if she could somehow ask for someone's advice, or even better read Erza's mind at that moment. The blond girl simply sighed, as she slowly broke the hug and looked into Erza's eyes. Erza had a relieved expression on her face, she looked like she gotten a small burden of her chest.

"Thank you, Lucy. It feels better to say these things, when you can tell them to the right people. I'm glad, that you are my friend" she said slowly.

"Sure, Erza. I'm here for you" Lucy said with a warm smile, trying to hide the small feeling of disappointment she felt at the word friend. But then again, hadn't Erza already mentioned that she felt like they were more than simple friends?

"Oh, look at the time! It's getting pretty late. I should, better get going" Erza said with a lighter tone as she picked up her bags again. "Good night, Lucy!" she greeted as she walked towards the door.

"Good night, Erza! I'll see you tomorrow" Lucy waved at her, as Erza waved back with a smile and got out of the apartment. Once Lucy got alone, she took a deep breath and walked towards her bed, having a strange feeling of relief as her heart gradually slowed down to its normal rhythm. She felt really tired, almost exhausted as if she was running for hours or she just climbed a tall hill. The blond girl noticed her desk and walked towards it. She reached for her written sheets and smiled as she took a peak at them, remembering Erza's confidence about her talent. She shook her head, still smiling, and put the sheets of paper back on the desk, as she moved towards her bed again. Lucy simply crashed on her fluffy bed and turned towards the window next to her. It was a cool night, the sky seemed clear with very few clouds. A pleasant breeze blew through the open window, and Lucy felt her eyelashes grow heavy. Should she have asked Erza to spend the night at her place? That wouldn't be really strange, would it?

"Well, there's no point in asking myself anymore" Lucy simply thought with a shrug. She closed her eyes as the crickets started chirping in the night, and slowly felt herself drifting into sleep.

Lucy opened her eyes and sat up, as she heard knocking on the door. She looked out of the window and noticed that it was still night.

"Who can it be at this hour?" she said as she got up and walked towards the door. "Who is it?" she asked as she got closer.

"It's me, Lucy. Open up" she heard a familiar voice.

"Erza?" Lucy said, puzzled as she opened the door and saw to her surprise that it was actually her. "What are you doing here? I thought you had left" she said still surprised, as Erza stood on her doorstep.

"Sorry, about that Lucy. I know it's late, but I couldn't sleep. There's something I need to tell you" Erza said hastily. Lucy noticed that Erza seemed to be on the edge. That was not like her.

"Come in" Lucy said as Erza got inside her apartment. Lucy closed the door and the two girls walked towards the main room. "So, what's going on? Is it something serious? Did something happen?" Lucy said with worry.

"Calm down, Lucy. It is kinda serious, but not the way that you think. Don't worry, everyone's fine" Erza said in a reassuring voice.

"That's good" Lucy sighed in relief. "But then, what is it? Why did you come so late?" she continued with wonder.

"Well, it's just that I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about what we said earlier. And what I want to say is, I like you. I really like you, Lucy" Erza said as she looked Lucy directly in the eyes. Lucy simply stared at her, with wide eyes and her mouth hanging open.

"You, what? What did you, just say?" she stammered, not being able to comprehend what she just heard.

"I said that I like you, Lucy! I think I have for a while now, I just haven't realized it yet" Erza said with a faint blush and a shy smile. Lucy simply stood there with a dumbstruck expression, trying to realize what she just heard. She then slowly smiled, and walked towards Erza.

"I'm so happy to hear that Erza. You know, I like you too. I've been feeling like this for, I don't know how long" Lucy said slowly as she took her hands gently. Erza simply chuckled.

"I know Lucy, I've noticed it a while ago. What didn't you say anything?" she said, smiling, as the two girls walked backwards.

"I don't know. Because I'm a fool, I guess" Lucy simply said as she gently pushed Erza on her bed. Erza fell on her back and Lucy slowly leaned on top of her.

"I wanted to touch you for so long" she said with a husky voice, as she put her hand on Erza's cheek, and slowly ran it down her body. Erza slightly moaned, her body reacting instantly to Lucy's touch.

"Lucy" she whispered with a flushed face, her eyes half closed in pleasure.

"Erza" Lucy whispered as she closed her eyes as well and leaned closer, ready to feel Erza's soft lips on her own.

"Lucy! Hey Lucy, wake up!" a familiar voice was heard.

"That voice. Natsu?" Lucy thought confused as she slowly opened her eyes, only to see the pink haired mage's face leaning over her.

"Hey Lucy! Are you okay? You seem to roll around a lot" Natsu said with a wondering expression.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Happy said, floating over her. Lucy blinked her eyes, before realization suddenly hit her.

"You guys!" she yelled as she suddenly sat straight up, knocking the others of her bed. "What, what are you doing here?" she said panting as she looked around hastily. Erza was nowhere to be found. "Was that, just a dream?" Lucy thought.

"Hey, that hurt! We just thought we come here to pick you up and go to the guild. We've barely seen you those past few days" Natsu said as he slowly got up, rubbing his head.

"Aye. You were moaning in your sleep, so we leaned closer to check on you" Happy said. Lucy felt her face burn.

"That's not good! Not good at all! Was I talking in my sleep? How much did they hear?" she thought anxiously, hoping that she hadn't say too much, or at least they didn't hear her too much. "Really, I was mumbling? What, what did I say?" she said with a trembling smile, trying to sound calm.

"You were moaning Erza's name, for some reason" Natsu said vaguely, confirming Lucy's fears and causing her to freeze on her bed.

"Well if she was dreaming about Erza, I bet it was a scary dream" Happy said.

"No kidding! Once I dreamt that I was running away from a giant Erza who wanted to eat me! I still shiver at that dream" Natsu said.

"Only you could dream of something so silly, Natsu" Happy said with a nonchalant expression.

"Hey what about you Happy? Don't you remember that dream were a giant fish was after you?" Natsu said back.

"Oh yeah. That was a scary one" Happy said while shivering.

"So, what about you Lucy? What were you dreaming about? Was Erza after you too? Did you dream eating her cake or something? Although this could actually happen" Natsu said casually as he turned towards Lucy.

"What's wrong Lucy? Why aren't you moving?" Happy said curiously as both Natsu and he finally noticed that Lucy was in exact same position since she sat up. Lucy slowly felt her temper burning.

"You guys! Get out of my house!" she exploded, flipping a table.

"Gah! Lucy has finally gone crazy!" Natsu yelled.

"Aye! Run, run while you still can!" Happy said flying out of the window.

"Happy! Wait for me!" Natsu said dramatically as he jumped out of the window as well. Lucy stood straight, panting, and took some deep breaths trying to calm down.

"What a vivid dream! It looked so real" she said to herself after she finally relaxed. She looked around and saw the small mess that she had made. "Those guys, barging in my house like that, again. But, they meant good. And they are right, I haven't seen them much those past few days. Maybe I shouldn't have snapped like this. But it's not only my fault, who knows what they heard! Although, it seems that they didn't get much. Fine then, I'll just apologize to them when I see them at the guild" Lucy continued with a sigh, as she started tidying up her apartment.

* * *

"Hey, what's up with you guys? You don't look very good" Gray said as Natsu and Happy walked towards his table with long faces.

"We stopped by Lucy's place earlier and for some reason she got angry" Natsu said with a pout as he got a seat on the table.

"Aye. She even flipped a table" Happy said as he sat on the table.

"Well, that's not much. She always yells when we get inside her house. Although, that table flip thing is a first" Gray said.

"It's not only that. I think it was a little different than the previous times, but I'm not sure what exactly" Natsu said, furrowing his eyebrows in thought.

"Why don't you ask her? She got in the guild just a while ago" Gray said pointing at the bar, where Lucy was sitting next to Cana.

"I'm not sure if that's such a good idea. There's just something that seems a little strange about her. As you said, she always overreacts when we do that, but not like this" Natsu said.

"Maybe it's something you guys did. Did you barge in her place while she was having a bath or something?" Gray said.

"No, not really. All we did was wake her up" Natsu said with a shrug.

"I guess it was because she was having a bad dream. Maybe she was still scared" Happy said.

"Bad dream? What are you talking about?" Gray said with his eyebrow raised, as he took a sip from his drink.

"I don't know if it was a bad dream, but for some reason she kept moaning Erza's name" Natsu said, causing Gray to spit a good amount of his drink, forming a small fountain.

"She did what?" he said, coughing, as he turned towards Lucy.

"Yeah, I found it a little strange too. But then again, I have seen bad dreams with Erza as well" Natsu said with a shrug.

"I see. Hey Happy, I heard that Mirajane has gotten some fresh fish this morning. Why don't you go and have some? I heard that there are a lot of them" Gray said with a conspiring look.

"Yeah, fish!" Happy said with a blissful way, as he flew towards the bar.

"Now that I think about it, I'm kinda hungry too. I still haven't had breakfast" Natsu said, rubbing his stomach.

"Sit down here. We need to talk" Gray said flatly.

"Huh? What for?" Natsu said with wonder.

"Have you noticed that Lucy and Erza have been spending a lot of time together lately?" Gray said.

"Yeah, maybe. Now that you mention it, they have. So, what about it?" Natsu said simply.

"I don't know. Maybe it doesn't mean anything. Maybe they just want to hang out, just the two of them, and do stuff that we would probably get bored. But there's something else that I've been thinking lately" Gray said slowly.

"What? What are you thinking about?" Natsu said with peaked curiosity.

"Remember that discussion we had a couple of days ago? That we would be happy for Lucy and Erza even if they chose someone else? You still feel that way, don't you?" Gray said with a serious expression.

"Of course I do! Why, is there someone that Lucy likes? Is there someone that Erza likes? Is it the same guy? Who is it, who is it?" Natsu started bombarding him with questions, his excitement growing bigger along with his curiosity.

"Calm down, Natsu" Gray said with a bored expression.

"Is it Gazille? Is it Loke? I know, it's Happy isn't it? That's why you sent him away!" Natsu said excited as he got up from his chair.

"What? What are you talking about?" Gray said with a confused expression.

"I can't believe that Erza is in love with Happy!" Natsu said in a dramatic way, causing several heads to turn towards him with winder.

"Sit down you idiot! Of course Erza is not in love with Happy!" Gray said as she pulled Natsu back on his sit. "And neither is Lucy!" he said hastily as Natsu opened his mouth to speak again.

"Then who are you talking about? Come on, just tell me already!" Natsu said impatiently.

"I will, if you shut up for a second!" Gray said angrily. "I think, that Lucy has a thing for Erza" Gray said thoughtfully.

"What? Come on now Gray, really? You just put on this serious face for a joke like that? I thought you were actually being serious" Natsu said.

"I am being serious" Gray said impatiently as Natsu's reaction almost reminded him of how he reacted when Cana talked to him. "Think about it for a moment. Lucy has always had a certain, admiration for Erza, to put it lightly. I think I had caught her checking Erza out a couple of times before, especially recently. Not to mention how much time they've been spending together these past few days. And, you are telling me that Lucy had a dream about Erza. I have a feeling that it wasn't a scary dream. I don't know, maybe all this doesn't really mean anything. But don't you think that there's that possibility?" Gray said with a serious expression. Natsu didn't talk at once, instead he scratched his head, and furrowed his eyebrows deep in thought.

"I don't know. If you put it that way, you may have a point. This could explain her behavior this morning. I didn't notice it at once, but now I got it why she reacted that way, we've both seen her before like this. She was embarrassed about something, that's why she was all flushed and started yelling. But then again, it was just a dream, it doesn't necessarily mean something" Natsu said.

"Perhaps, but if you put everything together, I think it kinda makes sense" Gray said, like he reached a conclusion in his thoughts.

"I guess you are right. The more I think about it, the more it seems to fit. But I don't think we can be sure about this, unless she talks to us. So, what do we do about this situation?" Natsu said as he turned towards Gray.

"What do you think?" Gray said with a small smile.

"Yeah, that's probably a stupid question" Natsu said with a smile as well. Further inside the guild, Lucy had already told Cana about what had happened that morning.

"Seriously? You had a dream about Erza? How was it?" Cana said curiously.

"It was nice, but short. Anyway, that's not the point here!" Lucy said hastily. "I told you already how I reacted when I saw that Natsu and Happy was there" she continued.

"Well, big deal. All you have to do is simply apologize. I mean, Happy just passed from here a few moments ago and he didn't seem angry or sad. He was just his usual self, and he was muttering something about fish" Cana said lightly.

"Yeah, I don't think he even noticed us, actually. But that's not all. I can't keep this to myself anymore. I know that I can talk to you about this, and I really appreciate it, but I can't keep this hidden from them anymore. And I'm so afraid! What am I going to do Cana?" Lucy said desperately. Cana smiled softly, put her hand over Lucy's hand and squeezed it gently.

"It's okay, Lucy. Just go and tell them. It's gonna be fine!" she said calmly. Lucy lifted her head and looked at her in the eyes. She slowly felt more courageous.

"You are right, I should tell them! I'm going right now" Lucy said decisively as she got up. "Thank you Cana" she said with a grateful smile.

"Hey, why are you thanking me for? Just go and tell them already" Cana said with a chuckle. Lucy nodded in agreement and walked towards Natsu and Gray who seemed to be deeply absorbed into their conversation, which was pretty unlikely for them. Lucy move closer, stopped next their table and took a deep breath before she talked.

"Good morning, guys!" she greeted with a nervous smile.

"Morning Lucy!" Gray greeted smiling.

"Hey, Lucy! Come on, sit down with us!" Natsu said with a wide grin.

"Yeah, thanks. Look Natsu, I am really sorry for this morning. I shouldn't have acted like that" Lucy said with her eyes lowered.

"Huh? Oh that? It's fine, Lucy! No big deal, seriously" Natsu said in a carefree way. Lucy smiled happily.

"Thank you Natsu! I knew you wouldn't be angry. Well, I did feel bad about it, but I knew you would be okay" She said relieved, as she took a seat next to Gray.

"So, Lucy. What's new? Is everything okay?" Gray said in an awkward attempt to fish Lucy.

"Yeah, everything is fine" Lucy said simply.

"Is there anything that you would like to tell us?" Gray said again.

"No, not really. Why are you asking?" Lucy said suspiciously.

"We are asking because, ouch!" Natsu suddenly started rubbing his leg. "Why did you kick me you bastard?" he said angrily, looking towards Gray.

"Because you're an idiot! Anyway, we were just wondering how did your mission with Erza go. That's all" Gray said calmly as he turned towards Lucy.

"Yeah, that's it. Did she kick you out of bed too? She kept doing this to us" Natsu said, still glaring at Gray.

"No, we slept pretty comfortably" Lucy said, looking between them.

"That's good" Gray said casually. Lucy kept looking at them and then sighed as she lowered her head.

"Look guys, there's something I need to talk to you about" she said as raised her head, only to see both Natsu and Gray staring at her. "Okay. Um, I'm not really sure how to say this but, for the past few, weeks, or maybe more, I'm not sure, I've been having some certain feelings, about someone" she started saying.

"Some certain feelings? You mean you like someone?" Natsu said.

"Yeah, that's what I mean" Lucy said, nodding her head.

"Is it someone that we know?" Gray said as he exchanged a quick glance with Natsu, which Lucy didn't seem to notice.

"Yeah, it is. Actually, it's someone that we all know, very well" Lucy slowly said. Both Natsu and Gray kept looking at Lucy, neither of them talking. Lucy took another deep breath. "It's Erza" she said eventually, unable to look at either of the other two. Lucy kept her eyes fixed on the wooden table, afraid to look upwards. She was expecting laughing, snickering, angry yelling or even sighs of disappointment. After a couple of moments that felt like hours, Lucy slowly looked up, only to see both Natsu and Gray looking at her with soft smiles.

"Really now? You don't say?" Gray said lightly.

"That's your big secret?" Natsu said, smiling.

"Huh? What are you guys talking about?" Lucy said confused, her eyes moving from the one to the other.

"Calm down Lucy. We already kinda knew about it" Gray said.

"You, what?! But, how?" Lucy stammered shocked.

"It's not important. Let's just say that we have, noticed some things" Gray said.

"You did? And, what do you have to say?" Lucy stammered again, but before she even finished her words Natsu got up and hugged Lucy tightly.

"What do you think? Of course we are happy for you!" he said as he broke the hug with a wide smile.

"Natsu" Lucy whispered as she turned towards Gray.

"What did you expect, Lucy? Of course we are with you, and we are happy for you" he said smiling warmly.

"You guys! You are the best!" Lucy said with tears in her eyes as she hugged both of them. "Thank you, Natsu, Gray" she with a stuffed voice, unable to hold back her tears. She felt as if a huge burden had lifted from her chest, and that she was safe and warm in her friends' arms, as Natsu and Gray returned the hug gently. She felt that her relationship with the two of them had grown deeper.

"You are so weird, Lucy! Why are you crying now?" Natsu said, his voice slightly trembling as well.

"It's okay Lucy. Let it all out. We are here for you" Gray said soothingly. Lucy let out a laugh as she slowly broke the hug, smiling widely though her tears.

"I'm sorry for that. It's just that, I'm so happy! You have no idea how happy you made me guys!" she said as she wiped her tears.

"You are our friend, Lucy. We want you to be happy" Natsu said as he put his hand on Lucy's shoulder.

"So, what about Erza? Does she know anything?" Gray said.

"Not really, but I think that she is interested as well. At least, that's what I think so far" Lucy said shyly with a faint blush.

"Maybe we should just ask her! Here she comes. Hey, Erza" Natsu yelled. Lucy turned towards the direction that he was looking and noticed with shock that Erza was actually coming their way.

"What are you doing you idiot? Don't you even think about asking her! I'll find out myself!" she screamed silently as she grabbed Natsu by his scarf.

"Argh, okay, okay, I won't ask her. Lucy, you're chocking me" Natsu gasped.

"Hey Lucy, calm down" Gray whispered as Erza got closer.

"Good morning everyone!" Erza greeted smiling.

"Morning Erza" Gray greeted back as Natsu and Lucy stopped struggling.

"Good morning Erza" Lucy said with a wide smile.

"Hey Erza" Natsu greeted.

"Are you okay, Natsu? You seem a little pale" Erza said as she took a closer look at Natsu.

"He's fine, he just didn't have breakfast yet. Come on Natsu, I'm sure Mirajane will have something ready. I'm kinda hungry too, actually" Gray said hastily.

"Yeah, breakfast seems like a good idea" Natsu said.

"We'll see you guys later" Gray said with a smile, as Natsu and he walked towards the bar, leaving back a confused Erza and an amused, and most importantly relieved, Lucy.

"What was that about? Is everything okay?" Erza said as she turned towards Lucy.

"Well, they just said it, they simply need breakfast. Everything is fine, Erza! Everything is simply great!" Lucy said with a happy smile. Erza simply shook her head and smiled back as the two of them moved further inside the guild to meet with the rest of their friends, with Lucy standing close to her.

**Author's note: ****I kinda like how this chapter turned out. I hope I didn't frustrate a lot of people with the dream sequence, though. But even so, I think that Lucy and Erza had grown a little closer than before. Also, most importantly Lucy was finally able to tell Natsu and Gray about her feelings, and now she'll be able to move on more easily with the support of her friends. I think these moments of friendship are also important. The next chapter will probably focus a little more on the romance. Until next time!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note: The new chapter is out, I hope you enjoy it! I do not own Fairy Tail.  
**

**MORE THAN FRIENDS**

**CHAPTER 8**

It was another nice, sunny day in the city of Magnolia. The roads were filled with people who were either taking their walks or doing their daily chores. Near the city, the East Forest was looking as quiet as ever. Or at least, it seemed quiet since a strong explosion was heard.

"Take this!" Natsu yelled as he swung his fiery fists around, knocking out several bandits.

"Oh man, a fight with Fairy Tail mages! Talk about bad luck" one of the bandits groaned.

"No point in complaining now. Let's just fight, or try to get away" another one of the bandits said.

"Come on Happy, let's get them!" Natsu yelled again as he attacked more of the bandits.

"Aye sir!" Happy said with a spirited voice as he flew towards them at high speed, knocking one of them with a headbutt.

"That's crazy! Even their cat is dangerous" another one of the bandits said.

"Look at these two go! I better keep up" Gray said with a smile as he shot a number of ice blocks, knocking out more of the bandits.

"Nice shot Gray. But I won't lose to either of you!" Erza said as she dashed forward, wielding a sword on each hand and knocking out more bandits as well.

"Going overboard as always. Okay then, I'll better do my part too" Lucy said as she attacked with Fleuve d'étoiles, her magical whip, and knocked out some bandits herself. Natsu and the others had decided to take a mission as a team again, since it had been a while since they did something as a team. It was a simple mission, all they had to do was apprehend a group of bandits which was located somewhere in the East Forest. It was also reported that there were a few mages among them who had gone rogue and joined the bandits. Even though it was a fairly big group, the Fairy Tail mages seemed to have little problem dealing with them, and most of them had already been defeated.

"I think we are almost done" Lucy said.

"Don't relax just yet, there are still some of them around. There's also the possibility that few of them are hiding in the trees" Gray said. Just at that moment, a mage jumped from a tree and shot a blue blast against Lucy, which crashed against her and froze her in place.

"Lucy!" Natsu yelled in worry.

"Damn it, she's frozen. An ice mage, huh? I'll deal with him" Gray said angrily.

"Hah, I got one!" the mage yelled in triumph, but suddenly felt a cold chill going through him. He turned around slowly, only to see a particularly angry Erza standing behind him.

"So. You got one, right?" she whispered with a frightening expression.

"Ehe, he. I, can we talk about this?" the mage said as he started sweating.

"Sure, we can talk about it. If you can still talk after I'm done with you" Erza said simply as she dashed towards the mage, landing a strong punch on his face and sending flying upwards, before he crashed on the ground.

"I should have stayed on that tree" the mage mumbled.

"Wow, I almost feel sorry for the guy" Gray thought as he ran towards Lucy to check her out, followed by the others.

"How is she?" Erza said with a worried expression. Gray leaned closer and put his hand on the frozen Lucy, before he smiled.

"She's fine! That guy's magic isn't that strong. She may be frozen, but that's simply on the outside, Lucy herself is fine. If we just put her in a sunny spot, the ice would simply melt. But since this might take a while, Natsu's magic should do the trick" he said.

"Good, make room then! I'm going to warm her really good!" Natsu said with a big smile, as he surrounded his hands in flames.

"Hey, don't overdo it you idiot!" Gray said.

"Watch out Natsu!" Happy said.

"Natsu, if you burn her, I'll send you flying to the guild!" Erza said with a threatening voice.

"Fine, fine, I'll be careful! What kind of idiot do you think I am?" Natsu said with an annoyed voice as he moved closer and started moving his hands around Lucy. The ice started to slowly melt. The mages gasped when they heard a cracking sound and held their breaths, but after a while they sighed in relief as the ice simply melted and shattered, leaving a wet Lucy to fall on the ground.

"Heh, I did it!" Natsu said with a relieved smile.

"Well done, Natsu!" Happy said.

"Lucy! Are you okay?" Erza said as she kneeled next to Lucy and hugged her.

"Yes, I'm fine, Erza. I'm okay" Lucy said, as she returned the hug.

"Good, I was so worried, Lucy" Erza said with a stuffed voice, as she tightened the hug. Natsu and Gray simply watched with tender smiles.

"It's okay Erza, don't worry. Gray was right, just a little sunlight and I would be fine" Lucy said with a soothing voice.

"Wait, you could hear everything that we said?" Erza said with surprise, as she broke the hug.

"Yep, I sure could. The only thing that got me worried was Natsu turning me to barbeque" Lucy said with a smile.

"Hey, what was that? Not you too, Lucy!" Natsu said with a dramatic voice.

"I'm kidding Natsu! Of course I'm grateful for your help! Thank you" Lucy said, still smiling.

"Oh, sure. Anytime, Lucy!" Natsu said as with a goofy smile as he rubbed the back of his head. Erza got up and helped Lucy back on her feet.

"Can you stand?" she said.

"Sure. I'm just a little chilly. Everyone, I'm sorry I messed up" Lucy said as she lowered her head.

"What are you talking about, Lucy? It was a fight, these things can happen. The important thing is that you are fine" Erza said.

"Thank you, Erza" Lucy said with a small smile.

"Now let's call someone to pick up these guys and go back to the guild. I think I need a drink" Gray said as the other mages nodded in agreement.

* * *

The small group of mages made its way through the city, all of them being in a really good mood.

"Well, that was fun!" Natsu said excited as he stretched his arms.

"Aye! It really was!" Happy nodded vividly in agreement as he floated around him.

"I agree. It's been a while since we've all been to a mission like this" Gray said with a smile.

"Are you feeling better Lucy?" Erza said with some worry as she turned towards Lucy, who was walking beside her.

"Yeah, I'm fine Erza. Just, a little cold" Lucy said with a small smile, slightly trembling as she wrapped herself tighter with the thick, brown blanket that she was covered with.

"Come on Lucy, it wasn't that bad. Just drop the blanket already" Natsu said with a wave of his hand.

"I was frozen today!" Lucy said, exasperated.

"I guess you have a point there" Natsu said simply.

"Well that aside, it was nice finding another ice mage. Now if I had the chance to actually fight him, that would be great. But, a certain someone just had to go crazy again" Gray said, as he looked towards Erza.

"What? That guy froze Lucy. What did you expect me to do?" Erza said with a serious expression. Lucy pulled her blanket higher towards her face, not because she felt colder, but to hide her blush and her small smile. Although she did feel bad about making everyone worry, she still felt a little happy about Erza's sense of protection. Not that she was that surprised to hear that. Still, that made Lucy want to become stronger, strong enough not only to protect herself, but also to protect those who are important to her. Just like she had done in the previous mission that she had been with Erza. Lucy was sure that Erza would be able to protect herself in that case, but Lucy was happy that she was fast enough to strike and take that bandit down. Not only that, but she also felt kinda proud that she was able to protect Erza at that time.

"What are you smiling about?" Erza said with wonder, after noticing Lucy's expression.

"Nothing, really. I'm just happy that we all got to a mission together" Lucy said lightly.

"Well, if even Lucy enjoyed this mission, then I guess it was fun after all" Gray said smiling. Happy floated over Lucy and Erza and looked at them with a mischievous smile.

"What is it, Happy?" Lucy asked with a suspicious look.

"She likes you!" Happy said with a teasing tone, looking towards Erza.

"Oh, don't you even think about it! Come here you damn cat!" Lucy yelled as she grabbed Happy and put him under her blanket.

"Gah! Lucy has gone crazy!" Happy whined from under the blanket.

"What was that about?" Erza said, blinking her eyes in confusion.

"Nothing! Just Happy being, himself" Lucy said with a nervous smile.

"Maybe telling Happy about Lucy and Erza wasn't the best idea" Gray whispered.

"What can I say? He wouldn't stop asking about what we talked about the other day. He promised he wasn't going to say anything about it. I guess he couldn't help himself" Natsu said as Lucy kept struggling with Happy.

* * *

"We are back!" Natsu said loudly as the small group entered the guild. He was instantly greeted with a table to his face.

"It was about time, Salamander! I was getting bored around here" Gazille said with one of his signature laughs.

"Gazille, you bastard! Wait until I get you!" Natsu yelled angrily, moving around his fist.

"I guess I'll just go ahead and have a drink then" Gray said with a nonchalant expression, before Natsu punched him away and jumped towards Gazille. "Natsu, what was that for? Come here you stupid flame brain!" Gray growled angrily as he got up and joined the brawling mages.

"Fighting is a man's job" Elfman said as he entered the fray as well. Lucy simply sighed and got Erza's hand, as she started to walk towards the brawling mages with a strict expression.

"Just let them get it out of their system. They haven't done that in a while" she simply said.

"I guess you have a point. As long as they don't overdo it" Erza said. Lucy wondered what Erza exactly meant by overdoing it, since most of the times that Erza decided to stop a brawl she only ended up making it worse, but decided to keep these thoughts to herself, as the two girls along with Happy walked towards the bar, where Mirajane was talking with a young girl with long, dark blue hair and a small, white cat.

"Welcome back guys!" Mirajane greeted with a wide smile.

"Welcome back!" Wendy greeted, smiling as well.

"Good morning Mira, Wendy" Erza greeted.

"Good morning everyone" Lucy said.

"Hey Charle, did you miss me?" Happy said with a singing voice as he flew towards the white cat.

"Not really. I see you almost every day" Charle said with a calm expression.

"Charle, that's not very nice" Wendy said as Happy made a pouting expression with his big eyes.

"Fine, I missed you alright" Charle said with a sigh. Happy's expression was instantly replaced with a wide smile.

"So, how was your mission?" Mirajane said.

"It was fine, I guess. Hey, where's Cana?" Lucy said as she looked around the bar.

"Oh, she's just sitting over there with Levy" Mirajane said, pointing towards one of the tables. "Hey Lucy, what's with the blanket?" she continued as he noticed that Lucy was still covered with a blanket.

"What, this? Well, I don't need this blanket anymore" Lucy said as she pulled over her shoulders and put it on the counter. "As for why I had this well, it's a long story" she said with a sigh.

"Sit down Lucy. I'll tell them what happened" Erza said.

"Fine, be my guest" Lucy said as she took a seat, while Erza said about their mission and their fight with the bandits.

"You got frozen? Oh, my" Mirajane said with her hands covering her mouth.

"That's so awful Lucy-san. If I had come along, I could have healed you" Wendy said.

"Calm down everyone, it wasn't that bad. Natsu was able to fix it" Lucy said calmly. After a while, Cana walked towards them, holding a large mug.

"Morning Lucy, Erza!" she greeted cheerfully.

"Hey Cana. Where's Levy?" Lucy said.

"She went to buy a new book, or something like this. Hey, how was your mission?" Cana said.

"Mirajane will tell you what happened, I don't want to hear the same story again. Actually, I'm feeling a little tired. I think I'm gonna head home" Lucy said as she rubbed her temples.

"Are you feeling okay Lucy? Do you want me to walk you home?" Erza said with some concern.

"Don't worry Erza, I'm fine. I just need to take a warm bath, and rest for a while" Lucy with a reassuring smile.

"Actually Erza, I think you are needed at Fairy Hills. I heard that the new furniture for the lobby will arrive before noon, so maybe it will be better if you are there to receive them" Mirajane said.

"You are right, I totally forgot about that. Fine, I'll be there, but I still think that somebody should walk Lucy home" Erza said.

"Charle and I can go with her" Wendy offered as she got up.

"If Charle goes then I want to come to!" Happy jumped up.

"You are so loud sometimes! But I guess, you could come along if you want to" Charle said with a calm expression.

"Okay, it's settled then" Mirajane said with a smile.

"You are such a sweet girl, Wendy! Thanks everyone" Lucy said with a warm smile, moved by her friends' concern for her. "Okay then, I'll go have a bath, rest for a while, and then I'll come by Fairy Hills to check the new lobby" Lucy said with a smile.

"Sure. But before I go, there's one small thing that I need to take care around here" Erza said as she walked slowly towards the still brawling mages.

"Here we go again" Lucy said, shaking her head as an even bigger brawl broke out.

"Things are never boring around here" Cana said with a chuckle, as she took a ship from her large mug.

* * *

"Thanks for walking me home guys" Lucy said with a smile after they reached her apartment, as she turned towards the blue haired girl and the two cats.

"No problem, Lucy-san! Will you be okay by yourself?" Wendy said.

"I will, don't worry!" Lucy said with a reassuring smile. "What about you guys? What are you going to do?" she continued.

"We'll go back to the guild for a while and then we'll probably head towards Fairy Hills" Wendy said.

"Okay, I guess I'll see you later then" Lucy said.

"That's right. Goodbye, Lucy-san" Wendy greeted as she turned around.

"Rest well" Charle greeted with a small smile.

"And make sure you get a nice nap!" Happy greeted as well. Lucy waved at them with a warm smile, as she took out her keys and moved towards her apartment. Once she got inside, she locked the door and moved straight towards the bathroom. She filled her marble bathtub with warm water and soap, removed her outfit and stepped inside her bathtub. Lucy let out a long sigh as she slowly dipped inside the warm water, closed her eyes, and simply relaxed, allowing the bath to slowly take its effect. The blond girl felt better already, like all her tiredness and fatigue had stated to wash away. She moved her hand over her body and moaned in relief. Lucy opened her eyes and pondered briefly on what had transpired in those few days. Not only she had discovered that her feelings for her best friend were more intense than she first thought, she also found out that Cana was feeling that way about Mirajane as well. And while this had made her feel better, knowing that she wasn't the only one that she was feeling that way, what made her even happier was the fact that she was finally able to talk about her feelings to her other closest friends. Lucy felt really relieved that she was finally able to talk to Natsu and Gray about it and found out that their feelings for her didn't change. Sure, she might have gotten some teasing from them, when Erza was not around, and she also had to deal with Natsu's pervy expressions at times, but their support meant a great deal for her. Lucy also thought that she had actually gotten a little closer with Erza as well, she could definitely feel that Erza was also feeling something more about her. But she wasn't quite sure yet. Lucy sunk deeper in her bathtub, almost covering her face up to her eyes, and blew some bubbles in frustration. She then quickly made up her mind, she would finish her bath quickly and walk over to Fairy Hills. She wasn't sure what she was going to say, but simply being around Erza would be enough.

* * *

"Why do we have to tend the bar again?" Elfman said.

"I don't know. Ask your sister" Gazille said with a scowl. After another brawl at the guild ended, Mirajane had made Elfman and Gazille take her place at the bar while she had to make some shopping for the guild. She had said firmly that was their punishment for starting the brawl.

"I get that she asked us to take her place at the bar, but these aprons are a little too much. This is so unmanly" Elfman groaned as she looked at his pink apron.

"That crazy woman" Gazille mumbled angrily as he grabbed a spoon and started munching it, trying to ignore his own light blue apron.

"Hey Gazille, can you fill this up?" Max said as he walked towards the bar holding a mug. The look that Gazille shot him made him instantly regret his decision.

"What am I, a damn waitress? Go fill it yourself!" he said angrily.

"I think I'll just go drink some water. I mean, who needs beer in the morning" Max said as he slowly walked away.

"Good for you" Gazille growled.

"I think that Nee-chan will be angry if we keep scaring away the clients, you know" Elfman said.

"Tsk. And what do you want me to do? Your smart sister put us here but did she honestly expect us to remember where everything is after a couple of minutes of showing us. I don't even know what any of these barrels even have" Gazille said in exasperation.

"And Cana is not here either. Who else could know where everything is" Elfman growled. Just at that time, a girl with short white hair walked towards them.

"Good morning Elf nii-chan! What are you doing behind the bar?" Lisanna said. Gazille and Elfman looked at each other for a moment.

"There's someone" Gazille said with his signature laugh.

"Lisanna! Quickly, come here and help us!" Elfman yelled in despair.

"Eh? What's going on here?" Lisanna said with a stunned expression as Elfman grabbed her by the shoulders, lifted her over the counter and stood her next to him. He then proceeded with quickly explaining what had happened.

"So you can help us, right?" Elfman said as she looked at her with pleading eyes. Lisanna tried to hold back her laugher as she shook her head.

"Fine, fine. I'll help you" she said with a calm voice.

"Thank you Lisanna. I knew I could count on you" Elfman said gratefully.

"You're okay little girl, unlike your sister" Gazille said.

"But I will only tell you where everything is" Lisanna said with as she put her hands on her waist.

"Fine" Elfman sighed.

"Maybe she is more like her sister than I thought" Gazille groaned.

* * *

Lucy made her way through the city towards Fairy Hills, feeling refreshed after her bath and a quick breakfast that she had at her apartment. But after she reached the residence of most of the female members of the guild and made her way towards one of Erza's rooms, she found out that someone was not feeling as well as her.

"This is ridiculous! How did I get a cold? You are the one who got frozen" Erza said with a scowl. Lucy wasn't sure how to react. Erza was lying on her bed, covered in blankets. Levy, who had already gone to Fairy Hills after she left the guild, had informed her that Erza had felt a little dizzy and Levy urged her to go to her room to get some rest. When they realized that Erza had a cold, they actually had to force her to lie down, despite her protests that she was feeling okay, until she also agreed that it would be a good idea.

"I don't know. Maybe it was because of last night? It was pretty chilly, you should have covered yourself better" Lucy said as she took a seat next to Erza.

"Maybe. Still, I can't remember the last time I got sick. It's been pretty long, and that's because I usually know how to take care of myself" Erza said with some frustration.

"Well, maybe you got careless. But I have to agree, you are one of the last people that I would expect to get a cold" Lucy said.

"Gee, thanks Lucy. That makes me feel even better" Erza said as she slummed more in her covers. Lucy felt a little bad about her comment.

"You're right, I'm sorry. Well, in that case I suppose I'll have to take care of you until you get better" she said with a warm smile as she leaned closer towards Erza and covered her better with her blankets. Erza felt herself heat up, and not because of the cold.

"It's okay Lucy, I'm not that bad. I can handle myself" she mumbled under her covers.

"Nope. Now you stay here and don't even think about getting up. I'll go to the kitchen and see if I can make you some soup to eat" Lucy said with a final tone in her voice as she gently pushed Erza back on her bed.

"Fine, whatever you say" Erza sighed as she lied down and turned towards her side. She heard footsteps moving away and she smiled under her covers. She felt a fuzzy, warm feeling at the thought that Lucy would be there to take care of her. It felt nice to leave herself in someone else's care once in a while, even if she still felt pretty frustrated that she had gotten a cold. Erza simply shook her head and closed her eyes, feeling already a little better at the thought that Lucy was there. It seemed like she had slept for mere moments before she felt a gentle poke on her side, and a nice smell feeling her nostrils. Erza opened her eyes and rubbed them as she slowly sat up on her bed.

"Sorry I woke you up, but I made some soup for you. It will make you feel better" Lucy said as she put a tray with a bowl of hot soup on Erza's blankets.

"Thanks Lucy. It smells wonderful, what is it?" Erza said as she checked the soup. It was dense, with a yellowish colour, and it had some pieces of vegetables floating around, mostly carrots and potatoes.

"It's chicken noodle soup. It always makes me feel better when I am on bed. Be careful though, it's still pretty hot" Lucy said with a smile. Erza simply smiled and took a spoonful of the soup. She felt her entire body warm up as she swallowed her spoonful.

"It's delicious!" she said with glee.

"Really? I'm happy that you liked it" Lucy said with a small smile, as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Come on Lucy, are you really that surprised? Everyone knows that you are a good cook" Erza said before she took another sip of her soup. Lucy simply smiled wider as she saw Erza enjoying her soup. It didn't take long for her to finish it, as Lucy took the tray back to her kitchen and got back.

"That was some mission, right? I got frozen and you fell to bed" Lucy said with a chuckle as she covered Erza a little better.

"Well, that's not really much. We've been through much worse" Erza said.

"Well, I can't disagree with that" Lucy nodded in agreement.

"Hey, Lucy. Thanks for visiting. And taking care of me" Erza said silently.

"Why are you thanking me for? Of course I would take care of you!" Lucy said. There was a moment of silence before Erza talked again.

"Um, Lucy?" she mumbled.

"Yes, Erza?" Lucy said as she sat close to her.

"Will you visit tomorrow too?" Erza said from under her covers. Lucy smiled warmly and leaned closer.

"Of course I will, silly. And after you get better, let's do something fun. Something other than going to missions. Now get some rest, I will be here until you go to sleep" the blond girl said with a soft voice. Erza smiled widely as she closed her eyes. It wasn't long before Lucy could sound Erza's slow, rhythmical breathing. She slowly moved her hand towards Erza's sleeping face and gently caressed her. She looked so cute and peaceful as she was soundly asleep. Lucy leaned towards Erza and gave her a small kiss on her cheek.

"Sleep well Erza. I'll come again tomorrow" she said with a silent voice as she got up and moved out of the room. The next day Lucy visited Erza again as she promised, and the two girls spent most of the day together. Lucy heat up the soup that was left from the previous day and also brewed some tea, and by the end of the day Erza was already feeling better.

* * *

"So, how is Erza feeling?" Natsu said. Lucy was at the guild as she, along with Natsu and Gray, was sitting at the same table.

"She's doing much better actually" Lucy said with a happy smile.

"Will you visit her again?" Gray said.

"Yeah, probably. I'll go by her place later" Lucy said.

"You think we should visit her too?" Natsu said as he turned towards Gray.

"Maybe, but I thought that guys aren't allowed in Fairy Hills" Gray said thoughtfully.

"Happy goes there all the time" Natsu pointed out.

"That's because I'm a cat" Happy said lightly as he munched a fish.

"I know that guys aren't normally allowed in Fairy Hills, but I don't think there would be a problem in that case. After all, all you guys want to do is visit your friend" Lucy said.

"That's settled! Let's go then" Natsu said as he and Gray got up.

"That won't be necessary" a familiar voice was heard. The mages turned towards the way that the voice was heard and saw Erza walking towards them with a wide smile.

"Erza! You are okay" Lucy said.

"Yep. I got better" Erza said.

"That was fast" Gray commented. Erza took a seat next to Lucy as Natsu and Gray sat down as well.

"Thank you, Lucy" Erza said softly.

"Why are you thanking me for? You got better" Lucy said, avoiding Erza's look.

"Anyway, we were talking about what we should do after you got better. Lucy suggested something fun, but we are still thinking about ideas" Gray said.

"Well, I'm sure we can think of something. There are several things we could do in the city" Erza said with a shrug.

"How about we go fishing?" Natsu suggested.

"There's an idea. Although it sounds kinda boring" Lucy said thoughtfully.

"For the moment I would be fine if we could just spent the rest of the day here" Erza said as she leaned more comfortably on her chair. Natsu, Gray and Lucy simply smiled at that idea, as they decided that spending the rest of their day with each other sounded pretty good.

**Author's note: ****I think this is a fun chapter. It had a little more humor, a few more characters appeared and it also has some fluffy scenes between Erza and Lucy. I will to make the next chapter a fast update. Until next time!**


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